Статті в журналах з теми "Southern Cook Group"

AbstractAn assemblage of fossil plants is here recorded from the Middle Devonian Beacon Heights Orthoquartzite and overlying Aztec Siltstone (Taylor Group), of the Cook Mountains and Skelton Névé regions, southern Victoria Land, Antarctica. The Beacon Heights Orthoquartzite exposed in the southern Cook Mountains yielded specimens of the lycopods Haplostigma lineare, Malanzania sp., and Archaeosigillaria sp. cf. A. caespitosa. The Aztec Siltstone flora contains Praeramunculus alternatiramus and H. lineare.

Purpose - This research aims to contribute to the analysis of the information needs, preferences, and behaviors of home cooks and how libraries can serve this user group. Methodology - This study uses a literature review for background and includes new research using online surveys. The research used 31 anonymous home cooks in the USA who describe their information needs, preferences, and behaviors when in the process of gourmet cooking. Findings - Home cooks seek recipes that meet specific needs such as quick, budget-friendly, child-friendly, special occasions, personal preference, portable, and ethnic foods. To find information, home cooks use the All Recipes, Food Network, Epicurious, or Google websites; Cooking Light, Southern Living, or Real Simple magazine subscriptions; and Barefoot Contessa, 30 Minute Meals with Rachael Ray, or other Food Network channel television shows. Practical Implication - This study can serve as a guide to libraries in order to improve their services for home cook users.

AbstractMorphological, distributional, and habitat data are presented for North American species of the three genera of the subfamily Neomamersinae, Neomamersa Lundblad, 1953, Arizonacarus gen.nov., and Meramecia Cook, 1963. Neomamersa lundbladi lundbladi Cook, N. lundbladi paucipora Cook, and N. hexapora Cook are redescribed based on examination of types and newly collected specimens, and six new species of Neomamersa from the United States are described, namely N. boultoni sp.nov., N. psammicola sp.nov., N. californica sp.nov., N. chihuahua sp.nov., N. neomexicana sp.nov., and N. cramerae sp.nov. Arizonacarus chiricahuensis gen.nov., sp.nov. is described from the southwestern United States. Meramecia (Meramecia) anisitsipalpis (Cook), M. (Meramecia) perplexa (Cook), and M. (Meramecia) ocularis (Cook) are redescribed based on study of types and newly collected specimens, and M. (Meramecia) occidentalis sp.nov. is described from the western United States. Meramecia (Parameramecia) multipora subgen.nov., sp.nov. is also described from the southwestern United States. Revised diagnoses, keys, and distribution maps are presented for all North American taxa. Phylogenetic relationships of Neomamersinae are discussed, leading to the conclusion that comprehensive reassessment of the families Limnesiidae and Anisitsiellidae is warranted. Consideration of available phylogenetic and distributional data suggests that Neomamersinae originated in Gondwanaland before the separation of India from the rest of the southern supercontinent. Subsequently, the clade evolved and diversified extensively in South America. Neomamersinae apparently first entered North America either by crossing a "filter bridge" during late Cretaceous, Paleocene, or Miocene times or by traversing the corridor established with the formation of the Panamanian Isthmus during the late Pliocene. The group exhibits considerable taxonomic diversity in hyporheic and groundwater habitats in the United States, and the various species represent potentially useful indicators of water quality and the impact of environmental changes on freshwater communities.

The California milliped genus Xystocheir Cook, occurring along the Pacific Coast and the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, comprises nine species, three being divided into a total of seven subspecies; the species are combined into four species-groups named for the oldest component. Xystocheir dissecta (Wood), abundant around San Francisco – San Pablo and Monterey bays, comprises intergrades, one true subspecies, and two apparent semispecies that are treated as subspecies; additionally, a local population in southern Mendocino County has achieved reproductive isolation and attained species status. Two new combinations, X. reducta (Causey) and X. modestior (Chamberlin), are proposed, along with the following new synonymies: Paimokia Chamberlin under Xystocheir, X. acuta Cook, X. francisca and X. milpitas, both by Chamberlin, and Cheirauxus sapiens Chamberlin under X. d. dissecta, new status; and Delocheir conservata and D. dalea, both by Chamberlin, under X. dissecta taibona Chamberlin, new status. The following new species-group taxa are diagnosed: the subspecies Xystocheir dissecta microrama, Xystocheir modestior haerens, and Xystocheir stolonifera uncinata, and the species X. prolixorama, X. solenofurcata, X. brachymacris, X. stenomacris, X. bistipita, and X. stolonifera.

A newly discovered vertebrate fossil assemblage, the Casa Blanca local fauna, comes from the Laredo Formation, Claiborne Group, of Webb County, Texas, and is the first reported Eocene land-mammal fauna from the coastal plain of North America. The mammalian fauna is correlated with the Serendipity and Candelaria local faunas of west Texas, the Uinta C faunas of the Rocky Mountains, the Santiago Formation local fauna of southern California, and the Swift Current Creek local fauna of Saskatchewan. The vertebrate-bearing deposit lies approximately 32 m above a horizon containing the marine gastropod Turritella cortezi, which ranges from east Texas to northeast Mexico in the lower half of the Cook Mountain and Laredo Formations and is a guide fossil for the Hurricane Lentil in the Cook Mountain Formation. Nannoplankton found in these middle Eocene formations belong to the upper half of Nannoplankton Zone 16 and allow correlation with European beds of late Lutetian to early Bartonian age.Over 700 specimens represent at least 30 species of 28 mammal genera. The Casa Blanca fauna is the southernmost and easternmost North American land-mammal fauna of definite Eocene age, and is the westernmost Paleogene vertebrate fauna from the Gulf Coastal Plain.

IntroductionSalt intake in China is twice the upper limit recommended by the WHO, and nearly 80% of salt is added during cooking. This study will develop a package of salt reduction interventions targeting home cooks and evaluate its effectiveness and feasibility for scale-up.Methods and analysisA cluster randomised controlled trial design is adopted in this study, which will be conducted in six provinces covering northern, central and southern China. For each province, 10 communities/villages (clusters) with 13 families (one cook and one adult family member) will be selected in each cluster for evaluation. In total, 780 home cooks and 780 adult family members will be recruited. The home cooks in the intervention group will be provided with the intervention package, including community-based standardised offline and online health education and salt intake monitoring. The duration of the intervention will be 1 year. The primary outcome is the difference between the intervention and control group in change in salt intake as measured by 24 hours urinary sodium from baseline to the end of the trial. The secondary outcome is the difference between the two groups in the change in salt-related knowledge, attitude and practice and blood pressure (BP).Ethics and disseminationThe study has been approved by The Queen Mary Research Ethics Committee (QMERC2018/13) and Institutional Review Board of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (No. 201801). The study findings will be disseminated widely through conference presentations and peer-reviewed publications and the general media.Trial registration numberChiCTR1800016804.

Two new genera of Eriococcidae, Intecticoccus Kondo and Orafortis Hardy, each with a new species (I. viridis Kondo and O. luma Hardy), are described and illustrated based on the adult females. I. viridis was collected on Nothofagus antarctica (Nothofagaceae) in Argentina and Chile, and O. luma was collected in Chile on Amomyrtus luma (Myrtaceae). Based on a phylogenetic analysis of SSU rDNA (18S) sequence data, I. viridis and O. luma are placed within the Gondwanan group of eriococcids (sensu Cook & Gullan 2004), which also includes other Nothofagus-feeding genera such as Chilechiton Hodgson & Miller, Chilecoccus Miller & González and Madarococcus Hoy. Major genera within the Gondwanan group that feed on other plant groups include Lachnodius Maskell, Opisthoscelis Schrader and some species currently assigned to Eriococcus Targioni Tozzetti. We consider that I. viridis and O. luma are each sufficiently distinct from other named taxa to warrant erection of two new genera. DNA data do not support a relationship of Chilechiton with the New Zealand genus Eriochiton Maskell. A revised taxonomic key to the adult females of Eriococcidae known from Chile is provided.

AbstractMorphological, life history, and distributional data are presented for North American species of the genus Chelomideopsis Romijn. Chelomideopsis brunsoni (Cook) and C. besselingi (Cook) are redescribed on the basis of larvae, deutonymphs, and adults. Larvae and female adults of C. brunsoni, and deutonymphs of both of these species, are described for the first time. The mite described by Cook (1955) as the allotype female of C. brunsoni is correctly identified as a female of Platyhydracarus juliani Smith (1989). Four new species are described as follows: C. occidentalis sp.nov. (deutonymphs and adults), C. siskiyouensis sp.nov. (adults), C. minuta sp.nov. (female adults), and C. gledhilli sp.nov. (adults). A new diagnosis is proposed for Chelomideopsis based on knowledge of all active instars. New hypotheses on the phylogeny of species of the genus are presented, permitting the first assessment of zoogeography in this group of mites. The genus probably originated in Laurasia during the late Cretaceous or early Tertiary, and diversified and became widely dispersed in North America and Eurasia during the Tertiary. Mites of the genus apparently were adapted for the temperate climate that persisted until late Tertiary times, and were displaced to southern refugial areas by habitat destruction and climatic cooling associated with episodes of Pleistocene glaciation. The various species are now beginning to reinvade recently deglaciated areas from their Wisconsinan refugia, as they and their host chironomids colonize suitable spring and small stream habitats.

SummaryFossils and other evidence from the Southern Cook Islands show that the Rimatara Lorikeet Vini kuhlii, known as the Kura, was widespread in the group during prehistoric times and, it was probably extirpated due to exploitation for its red feathers. Today, it survives only on Rimatara in the Austral Islands, where it is known as the ‘Ura. On Rimatara during 5-11 August 1992 we saw/heard 263 ‘Ura, and estimated the total population at 900 birds. The mixed horticultural belt, about 32% of the island, was the most favoured habitat at 2.2 birds ha1 and it supported about 61% of the total population. The species was uncommon in the coastal coconut plantations and central hills, and rare in the makatea/feo. Rats, especially Rattus rattus, have often been associated with the loss of forest birds on oceanic islands and R. rattus is thought to be responsible for the decline in other lorikeets of French Polynesia. A preliminary trapping study located R. norvegicus and R. exulans, but not R. rattus. The highest conservation priority should be given to confirming the absence of R. rattus on Rimatara and the implementation of a major quarantine programme to ensure that it is not accidentally introduced. We recommend reintroducing the lorikeet to islands within its former natural range.

Abstract: COVID-19 began to manifest in the Pacific Islands by early March 2020, starting in the US and French territories, spreading slowly to the independent countries of Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste. All of the independent Pacific countries responded with aggressive measures, closing borders and establishing curfews. Against this background, Tropical Cyclone Harold, formed on April Fool's Day, began its devastating path through four Pacific countries: Solomon Islands with 27 dead in a ferry accident; Vanuatu whose northern islands, including Santo and Malekula were devastated by the cyclone with wind speeds greater than 200 km/h. The devastation continued in Fiji, with two tornadoes and devastation particularly in Kadavu and the southern Lau group. Tropical Cyclone Harold struck Tonga at the height of the king tide. COVID-19 continues to complicate relief efforts, particularly in Vanuatu. As of May 3, 2020, sixteen Pacific countries and territories had yet to report their first confirmed case of COVID-19: American Samoa, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Pitcairn, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Wallis and Futuna. The Pacific continues to lead by example motivated by collective stewardship with actions and policies based on science. Pacific leaders continue to work with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to implement COVID-19 management recommendations.

The Indo-Pacific apogonid genus Siphamia Weber 1909 is unique among cardinalfishes in having a bacterial biolumines-cent system and spinoid scales. Light is produced by luminous bacteria found in a small pocket connected to the gut in theabdominal cavity and in a sac on each side of the tip of the tongue. Siphamia consists of 23 small species many of whichare associated with invertebrates such as sea urchins, crown-of-thorns starfish and coral. Species of this genus fall intotwo main groups with different dark pigment pattern of the longitudinal translucent muscle acting as a light organ thatdiffuses light along the ventral edge of the body. The S. tubifer group, with a striated light organ, includes S. arabica, newspecies, from the Gulf of Oman; S. argentea from the Philippines and northern Western Australia; S. fraseri, new species,from New Caledonia, Tonga and Fiji; S. fuscolineata from the Marshall and Line islands; S. goreni, new species, from thesouthern Red Sea; S. guttulata from Darnley Island, Queensland; S. jebbi from the western Pacific, ranging from the Phil-ippines to Western Australia and east to the Caroline Islands, Fiji, and Tonga; S. majimai from the Ryukyu and Ogasawaraislands to northwestern Australia, ranging eastward to New Caledonia and Tonga; S. mossambica from the western IndianOcean; S. randalli, new species, from the Society and Cook islands; S. spinicola, new species, from Biak in eastern Indo-nesia, Papua New Guinea, Woleai Atoll, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and the Chesterfield Islands; S. stenotes, new species,from the Triton Bay area of Irian Jaya Barat Province of Indonesia; and S. tubifer ranging widely in the Indo-West Pacificfrom the Red Sea to Madagascar and east to Vanuatu. The S. tubulata group, with a dark-dotted light organ, includes S.brevilux, new species, from Papua New Guinea; S. cephalotes from southern Australia; S. corallicola from Indonesia, Sa-bah, and Timor Sea; S. cuneiceps from Western Australia and the east coast of Queensland; S. cyanophthalma, new species,from the Philippines, Palau, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea; S. elongata from the Philippines and Brunei; S. fistulosafrom Java, Sumbawa and Komodo, Indonesia, and Brunei; S. roseigaster from Western Australia, ranging along the north-ern and eastern coast of Australia south to Sydney Harbour, New South Wales; S. senoui, new species, from the RyukyuIslands, Japan; and S. tubulata from the Papua Barat Province, Indonesia, south coast of Papua New Guinea, northern Western Australia and Queensland.

Abstract We present deep Chandra, XMM–Newton, Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope, and Hα observations of the group–group merger NGC 6338. X-ray imaging and spectral mapping show that as well as trailing tails of cool, enriched gas, the two cool cores are embedded in an extensive region of shock-heated gas with temperatures rising to ∼5 keV. The velocity distribution of the member galaxies show that the merger is occurring primarily along the line of sight, and we estimate that the collision has produced shocks of Mach number $\mathcal {M}$ = 2.3 or greater, making this one of the most violent mergers yet observed between galaxy groups. Both cool cores host potential AGN cavities and Hα nebulae, indicating rapid radiative cooling. In the southern cool core around NGC 6338, we find that the X-ray filaments associated with the Hα nebula have low entropies (<10 keV cm2) and short cooling times (∼200–300 Myr). In the northern core, we identify an Hα cloud associated with a bar of dense, cool X-ray gas offset from the dominant galaxy. We find no evidence of current jet activity in either core. We estimate the total mass of the system and find that the product of this group–group merger will likely be a galaxy cluster.

South Asian Cnemaspis are one of the most diverse clades of gekkonids in South Asia with their highest diversity in the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka. These geckos include only a few nocturnal species and are largely diurnal or cathemeral and restricted to relatively cool habitats. One of the prominently diurnal subgroups in South Asian Cnemaspis is the bangara clade, which includes six species distributed in southern India on the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats, the southern Eastern Ghats and Palghat Gap. In this paper, we describe five more species of the bangara clade from the Shevaroyan landscape, including three from Kollimalai and one each from Yercaud and Pachaimalai, all in Tamil Nadu. These new species show 4.6–19.7 % uncorrected sequence divergence on the mitochondrial ND2 gene from each other and known species of the bangara clade and are morphologically diagnosable in body size, the number of paravertebral tubercles between limb insertions, the number of dorsal tubercle rows, the number of ventral scale rows across the belly, the number of femoral and precloacal pores and poreless scales separating these series, and aspects of colouration. The discovery of these five new species adds to the growing discoveries of cool-adapted species in southern India outside the Western Ghats and highlights the role of sky-islands in diversification. The Shevaroyan landscape shows high levels of microendemism with eight species distributed in an area of < 2000 km2, and all these species restricted to much smaller areas of actual distribution. With an area of < 500 km2 respectively, the massif of Pachaimalai has a single endemic and the massifs of Yercaud and Kollimalai have three endemic Cnemaspis species each.

Several studies have demonstrated the contribution of northern immigrants to the flora of the tropical Andes—the world’s richest and most diverse biodiversity hotspot. However, much less is known about the biogeographic history and diversification of Andean groups with southern origins, although it has been suggested that northern and southern groups have contributed roughly equally to the high Andean (i.e., páramo) flora. Here we infer the evolutionary history of the southern hemisphere plant genusGunnera, a lineage with a rich fossil history and an important ecological role as an early colonising species characteristic of wet, montane environments. Our results show striking contrasts in species diversification, where some species may have persisted for some 90 million years, and whereas others date to less than 2 Ma since origination. The outstanding longevity of the group is likely linked to a high degree of niche conservatism across its highly disjunct range, wherebyGunneratracks damp and boggy soils in cool habitats. Colonisation of the northern Andes is related to Quaternary climate change, with subsequent rapid diversification appearing to be driven by their ability to take advantage of environmental opportunities. This study demonstrates the composite origin of a mega-diverse biota.

Dusky dolphin Lagenorhynchus obscurus is distributed primarily in cool coastal waters at several continental margins and island borders in the Southern Hemisphere. Off Peru, the northernmost record of this species has been in front of the coast of Salaverry (ca., 6°S). In this paper, we report for the first-time a pod of dusky dolphin at the coast of Los Órganos (4°9.517’S; 81°11.958’W) northern Peru, thus extending the potential distributional range ca., 350 km towards the equator. A group of between 10 to 20 adult individuals was sighted on 17 October 2017, during a whale-watching excursion. Digital photographs and film allowed us to confirm the species based on body morphology and coloration. The sighted group was moving around the area without heading to a given direction. This record constitutes the northernmost record of dusky dolphin in Peru and arguably in the Southern Hemisphere.

A phylogenetic study using large subunit ribosomal DNA sequence data of several species of Siphula, representing all phenotypically recognized species groups, suggests that Siphula is not monophyletic. One lineage, including the core group related to S. ceratites and the S. decumbens group, is placed with members of the Icmadophilaceae, whereas a second distinct lineage, comprising S. complanata, S. fragilis and their relatives, has evolved within the Coccotremataceae. To accommodate these species, the new genus Parasiphula is described as new to science. Parasiphula consists of species restricted to cool to cold latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere. The results show a remarkable case of parallel evolution of lineages that have lost sexual stages and propagate via thallus fragments.

Abstract Kim, S., Kang, S., Zhang, C-I., Seo, H., Kang, M., and Kim, J. J. 2012. Comparison of fisheries yield and oceanographic features at the southern boundaries of the western and eastern Subarctic Pacific Ocean. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 69: . The ecological characteristics of fish communities were compared at the southern boundaries of the eastern and western Subarctic Pacific, based on oceanography, fishery information, and ecological features. Sea surface temperature (SST) was higher in the western North Pacific (NP) than in the eastern NP, and changes in SST showed regional and temporal alternating patterns. Cool and warm SST regimes were observed in the western NP during the early 1980s and the early 2000s, respectively, compared with warm and cool regimes in the eastern NP. Increasing SSTs were more conspicuous in the western than in the eastern NP. Catches from commercial fisheries were higher in the western NP than in the eastern NP. Small pelagic fish were dominant in the western NP, whereas demersal behaviour was common for fish populations in the eastern NP. Changes in species composition also showed contrasting characteristics between the two regions. In the western NP during the early 1980s, landings were dominated (35.8%) by sardine. After two decades, however, landings consisted of a more diverse species group. In the eastern NP, five species appeared in similar percentages (∼10% each) during the early 1980s, but hake alone made up 36.3% of the landings in the early 2000s.

Although the genus Holopedium contains only two recognized species, the taxonomic status of many North American populations has been uncertain. By exploiting allozyme analysis to clarify taxonomic assignments, this study shows that Holopedium populations in the lakes of eastern North America are separated into two genetically distinct lineages. Component populations of each group show both low levels of genetic polymorphism and high genetic similarity. Aside from their genetic divergence, morphological and ecological differences among the groups support their recognition as distinct species. Holopedium gibberum is broadly distributed in the cool temperate regions of North America, while H. amazonicum occurs in the southern and eastern portions of the continent. The latter pair of species co-occur at some sites without hybridization, confirming their reproductive isolation.

ABSTRACT Brightening of Hen 3-860, previously classified as an Hα emitter, was detected by the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) survey at the end of the year 2016. We have obtained the first spectroscopic observations of the transient and supplemented them with photometric data from the Digital Access to a Sky Century at Harvard (DASCH) archive of astronomical plates, All-Sky Automated Survey (ASAS), and ASAS-SN surveys. Based on the results of our analysis, we can classify the object as a classical symbiotic star of the infrared type S, consisting of an M2-3 giant with a temperature of Tg ∼ 3550 K, a radius of Rg ∼ 60–75 R⊙, and a luminosity of Lg ∼ 540–760 L⊙, and a hot and luminous component (Th ∼ 1 × 105–2 × 105 K and $L_{\rm h}\, \sim 10^3\, L_\odot$). The system experienced at least four outbursts in the last 120 years. In addition to the outbursts, its light curves revealed the presence of eclipses of the hot component and its surrounding (relatively cool) shell, which developed during the outburst and redistributed a fraction of the radiation of the hot component into the optical, by the giant, classifying the object as a representative of a group of eclipsing symbiotic stars. The eclipses allowed us to reveal the orbital period of the system to be 602 d.

ABSTRACTSilurian sediments up to 2500 m thick are exposed in the Pentland Hills, SW of Edinburgh. These sediments, the North Esk Group, are here sub-divided into five well-defined formations: the Reservoir Formation, Deerhope Formation, Cock Rig Formation, Wether Law Linn Formation and Henshaw Formation. The Wether Law Linn Formation is further sub-divided into three members. Based on limited palaeontological evidence, the sediments appear to be late Llandovery (crenulata Biozone) to Wenlock in age. The Silurian sediments represent a regressive sequence, passing from offshore submarine-fan turbidite facies, through shallow marine sediments, with an abundant flora and fauna, possibly a barrier complex, to terrestrial red beds of Old Red Sandstone facies. Changing faunal associations in the shallow marine sediments reflect the availability of different substrates. The regression occurred on the southern margin of the Midland Valley graben.

Abstract The paper presents the results of studies on the influence of the 2010 Vistula flood on the humification process in the bottom sediments of the Goczałkowice Reservoir in southern Poland. Due to its location in the vicinity of farmlands, forests and urbanized areas, the Goczałkowice Reservoir is characterized by amplified and intense humification processes within its sediments. The studies were focused on the determining the influence of the flood wave containing organic and inorganic suspensions on these processes. Humic acids were analyzed using two spectroscopic methods: Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR). Application of these methods allowed to determine the values of free radicals and of the g-factor, which are indicators of oxidation, aromatization and maturation of humic acids during the humification process, as well as the value of the 1650/1720 ratio, reflecting the dissociation of the COOH group to COO− and the formation of complexes of transitional metals with humic acids during the humification process.

Abstract Over the past century, particularly after the 1960s, observations of mean maximum temperatures reveal an increasing trend over the southeastern quadrant of the Australian continent. Correlation analysis of seasonally averaged mean maximum temperature anomaly data for the period 1958–2012 is carried out for a representative group of 10 stations in southeast Australia (SEAUS). For the warm season (November–April) there is a positive relationship with the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) and an inverse relationship with the Antarctic Oscillation (AAO) for most stations. For the cool season (May–October), most stations exhibit similar relationships with the AAO, positive correlations with the dipole mode index (DMI), and marginal inverse relationships with the Southern Oscillation index (SOI) and the PDO. However, for both seasons, the blocking index (BI, as defined by M. Pook and T. Gibson) in the Tasman Sea (160°E) clearly is the dominant climate mode affecting maximum temperature variability in SEAUS with negative correlations in the range from r = −0.30 to −0.65. These strong negative correlations arise from the usual definition of BI, which is positive when blocking high pressure systems occur over the Tasman Sea (near 45°S, 160°E), favoring the advection of modified cooler, higher-latitude maritime air over SEAUS. A point-by-point correlation with global sea surface temperatures (SSTs), principal component analysis, and wavelet power spectra support the relationships with ENSO and DMI. Notably, the analysis reveals that the maximum temperature variability of one group of stations is explained primarily by local factors (warmer near-coastal SSTs), rather than teleconnections with large-scale drivers.

AbstractComparisons of selected biological attributes were made to establish a phylogenetic basis for the classification of the Cicindela splendida Hentz group taxa. Recognized members of the group, C. splendida, C. limbalis Klug, and C. denverensis Casey, are spring-fall species, and northern populations emerge later during spring than southern populations. Despite differences in time of peak abundance, the three species overlap in time and space. The absence of large numbers of hybrids of these three species suggests that although closely related, their adults can distinguish from each other, and thus their rank as species should be retained.Comparison of geographical distribution of these species with that of dominant soil types revealed that they had similar soil preferences. The geographical distribution of all three species was smaller than the range of their preferred soil types, probably because of the same factors that influence their local distributions.Morphometric analyses of these species revealed a closer similarity between C. splendida and C. limbalis. In both sexes elytral pattern, percentage maculation, elytral colour, and non-sensory setae number collectively distinguish these species from each other, whereas body measurements, body ratios, sensory setae, and labral setae collectively fail to distinguish them.Based on plesiomorph/apomorph character polarization, and the C. purpurea Olivier group as outgroup, it was determined that C. denverensis represents an early lineage of the C. splendida group, whereas C. splendida and C. limbalis are more recent sister species.The ancestor of the C. splendida group probably evolved during late stages of the Tertiary Period as a North American resident and was a continental, riparian, cool-temperate form that ranged across Canada and northeastern and central United States. Extant forms speciated during the late Pleistocene as a result of spatial fragmentation of populations, isolation, and adaptation during glacial and interglacial periods.

AbstractThe vertebrate assemblage from the Early Cretaceous non-marine Xinlong Formation of the Napai Basin, in the south-western part of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (southern China), is reviewed. The assemblage includes chondrichthyans (at least six species of hybodont sharks includingHybodus, Thaiodus, HeteroptychodusandAcrorhizodus), actinopterygians (Halecomorphi and Ginglymodi), turtles (the adocidShachemysand the carettochelyidKizylkumemys), crocodilians (cf.Theriosuchus) and dinosaurs (the sauropodsFusuisaurusandLiubangosaurus, carcharodontosaurid and spinosaurid theropods, iguanodontians and a possible psittacosaurid). This assemblage shows many similarities to those from non-marine formations of the Khorat Group of north-eastern Thailand. It seems to be particularly close to that from the Khok Kruat Formation, considered as Aptian in age, as shown especially by sharks and turtles and by the presence of iguanodontians. An Aptian age is therefore proposed for the Xinlong Formation. A study of the stable oxygen and carbon isotope compositions of reptile apatite suggests that this part of South China experienced subtropical arid conditions during the deposition of the Xinlong Formation. In its composition, the vertebrate fauna from the Xinlong Formation seems to be more similar to coeval faunas from SE Asia than to assemblages from northern China (including the Jehol Biota). Although this may partly reflect different depositional and taphonomic environments (fluvial for the Xinlong Formation versus lacustrine for the Jehol Biota) it seems likely that, during Early Cretaceous time, southern China and SE Asia were part of a distinct zoogeographical province, different from that corresponding to northern China. This may be the result of both climatic differences (with relatively cool climates in northern China versus a subtropical climate in the south) and geographical barriers such as mountain chains.

Aims. We wish to measure the cool star rotation period distribution for the Pleiades-age rich open cluster NGC 2516 and use it to determine whether cluster-to-cluster variations exist in otherwise identical open clusters. Methods. We obtained 42 d-long time-series CCD photometry of NGC 2516 in the V and Ic filters using the Yale 1 m telescope at CTIO and performed a number of related analyses, including PSF-based time-series photometry. Our data are complemented with additional information from several photometric datasets, literature radial velocities, and Gaia DR2 astrometry. All available data are used to construct an integrated membership list for NGC 2516, containing 844 stars in our ≈1° field of view. Results. We derived 308 rotation periods for late-F to mid-M cluster members from our photometry. We identified an additional 247 periodic M dwarf stars from a prior study as cluster members, and used these to construct a 555-star rotation period distribution for NGC 2516. The colour-period diagram (in multiple colours) has almost no outliers and exhibits the anticipated triangular shape, with a diagonal slow rotator sequence that is preferentially occupied by the warmer stars along with a flat fast rotator sequence that is preferentially populated by the cooler cluster members. We also find a group of extremely slowly rotating M dwarfs (10 d ≲ Prot ≲ 23 d), forming a branch in the colour-period diagram which we call the “extended slow rotator sequence”. This, and other features of the rotational distribution can also be found in the Pleiades, making the colour-period diagrams of the two clusters nearly indistinguishable. A comparison with the well-studied (and similarly aged) open cluster M 35 indicates that the cluster’s rotational distribution is also similarly indistinguishable from that of NGC 2516. Those for the open clusters M 50 and Blanco 1 are similar, but data issues for those clusters make the comparisons somewhat more ambiguous. Nevertheless, we demonstrate the existence of a representative zero-age main sequence rotational distribution and provide a simple colour-independent way to represent it. We perform a detailed comparison of the NGC 2516 rotation period data with a number of recent rotational evolution models. Using X-ray data from the literature, we also construct the first rotation-activity diagram for solar-type stars in NGC 2516, one that we find is essentially indistinguishable from those for the Pleiades and Blanco 1. Conclusions. The two clusters NGC 2516 and Pleiades can be considered twins in terms of stellar rotation and related properties (and M 35, M 50, and Blanco 1 are similar), suggesting that otherwise identical open clusters also have intrinsically similar cool star rotation and activity distributions.

The article analyzes the composition of ecological groups of birds registered within the limits of the Yaitskoe Lake Natural Monument. Yaitskoe includes 9 reservoirs of different sizes formed on the basis of the left-bank arm of the Samara River, which strongly meandered for more than 300 years in the estuary part of the Samara River. The lake is located 200 m from the southern border of Samara and less than 200 m from the Yuzhny Gorod new residential district. It was revealed that the avifauna of the Yaitskoe Lake Natural Monument includes 90 species of birds, of which 3 species are northern migrants, 11 periodically nest here and 76 nest almost regularly. These 90 species are belonging to the following orders: Podicipediformes (4), Ciconiiformes (4), Anseriformes (10), Falconiformes (10), Charadriiformes (8), Lariformes (5), Gruiformes (1), Ralliformes (4), Apodiformes (1), Cuculiformes (1), Columbiformes (2), Strigiformes (3), Coraciiformes (1), Upupiformes (1), Piciformes (2), Passeriformes (33 species). The avifauna of the Yaitskoe Lake Nature Monument can be divided into three (3) ecological groups: aquatic, swamp-meadow and shrub-forest birds, as well as a group of birds of prey associated with different coastal-aquatic biotopes. Aquatic group include: divers (4 species of grebes), aquatic-terrestrial (goose-like and coot — 11 species), aquatic-aerial (gulls and terns — 5 species); swamp-meadow: sandpipers of shoals — 6 species, shanks — 5 species, grass-climbing — 16 species; shrub-forest: ground-dwellers — 4 species, tree-climbers — 20 species, aerial hunters — 6 species; birds of prey include: soaring flyers — 3 species, fly-flyers — 6 species, hawks — 1 species, falcons — 3 species.

Abstract:Fast-growing plant species are plentiful at the early stages of succession and possess roots with greater capacity for soil exploration than slow-growing plant species of late stages. Thus, the dynamics of fine-root production, morphological traits and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) infection intensity were assessed monthly over 1 y in the grassland, scrub, secondary and mature forests of the Atlantic Forest ecosystem, amounting to 13 consecutive samplings. Fine roots were sampled in three 100 × 100-m plots at each study site. Each plot was subdivided in five 20 × 100-m subplots and 15 soil samples were randomly taken from a depth of 0–5 cm in soil within each plot. The average of the fine-root dry mass increased from 1.39 mg cm−3 soil in the grassland to 3.37 mg cm−3 in the secondary forest; fine-root tip diameter varied from 146 μm in the grassland to 303 μm in the mature forest; tissue density from 0.24 g cm−3 root in the grassland to 0.30 g cm−3 in the mature forest and fine-root length was 4.52 cm cm−3 soil in the grassland and 6.48 cm cm−3 soil in the secondary forest. On the other hand, fine-root specific length decreased from 43.9 m g−1 root to 18.3 m g−1 root in the mature forest; incidence of root hairs was 67% in the grassland and 30% in the mature forest; the length of root hairs was 215 μm in the grassland and 112 μm in the mature forest; and the intensity of AMF infection decreased from 66% in the grassland to 17% in the mature forest. In addition to AMF infection, the environmental variation also affected dry mass production and morphological traits of fine roots. During the cool season, fine-root dry mass, fine-root length, incidence and length of root hairs and intensity of AMF infection decreased compared with the warm season. We verified that the potential for soil exploration, that expresses the capacity for nutrient acquisition via fine roots and AMF infection intensity, decreased during the cool season and with the advance of the successional groups. These results indicate that fine-root traits and intensity of AMF infection are influenced by the intrinsic nutrient requirements of the plant species in each ecological group.

AbstractJurassic shallow marine to non-marine depositional sequences are among the most important economic targets in the North Sea. Detailed, ‘high resolution’ stratigraphy of these sequences has become a necessity in both predictive geological exploration models as well as in production reservoir models. In these paralic sequences, palynomorphs are the most abundant (micro) fossil group. Palynology is increasingly challenged to improve the biostratigraphic control, and to support the sequence stratigraphical framework. Based on a recently developed, conceptual Sporomorph EcoGroup model, the quantitative distribution patterns of terrestrial palynomorphs are grouped in six Sporomorph EcoGroups (SEGs), viz. Upland, Lowland, River, Pioneer, Coastal, and Tidally-influenced SEG. Application of the SEG model to data from a marginal marine, uppermost Callovian - Middle Oxfordian section of NAM well F17-4 from the southern part of the Central North Sea Graben allows the recognition of sea-level fluctuations and climate changes. A marked palaeoclimatic shift occurred in the earliest Middle Oxfordian. The relatively cool-subtropical, humid climate changed into a warmer, subtropical-tropical, drier climate. The sea-level reconstructions based on the SEG model are validated against a latest Callovian - Earliest Oxfordian depositional sequence.

The effects of soil moisture, soil temperature and Pythium ultimum Trow var. ultimum, on the emergence of safflower seedlings were investigated. The effect on emergence of safflower cultivar, Saffire, in Pythium-infested and in sterile soil was tested at three moisture stress levels (1500 kPa, 30 kPa, or 0 kPa), and five temperatures (5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 °C). Both factors affected emergence. At 0 kPa, emergence of safflower seedlings in both the Pythium-infested and sterile soil treatments averaged 4%. In sterile soil, at both 30 kPa and 1500 kPa, seedling emergence exceeded 85% at all temperatures. In Pythium-infested soil at 30 kPa, emergence was greater than 85% at 5 and 10 °C, but only 67, 49, and 27% at 15, 20 and 25 °C, respectively. Within the temperature range, 10–25 °C, seedling emergence in Pythium-infested soil was significantly less at 30 kPa than at 1500 kPa. In fields in the southern Canadian prairies infested with Pythium ultimum, safflower seeded into warm soil is likely to have poor stand establishment due to damping-off, especially if soil is wet. Thus it is advisable to plant safflower early, when soil is cool. Key words:Carthamus tinctorius, Pythium ultimum var. ultimum, Pythium sp. "group G", damping-off, seedling blight, soil moisture, temperature

The effects of prolonged heat and drought stress and cool growing conditions on dough mixing quality traits of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) were studied in fifty-six genotypes grown in 2017 and 2018 in southern Sweden. The mixing parameters evaluated by mixograph and the gluten protein characteristics studied by size exclusion high-performance liquid chromatography (SE-HPLC) in dough were compared between the two growing seasons which were very different in length, temperature and precipitation. The genotypes varying in gluten strength between the growing seasons (≤5%, ≤12%, and ≤17%) from three groups (stable (S), moderately stable (MS), and of varying stability (VS)) were studied. The results indicate that most of the mixing parameters were more strongly impacted by the interaction between the group, genotype, and year than by their individual contribution. The excessive prolonged heat and drought did not impact the buildup and mixing time expressed as peak time and time 1–2. The gluten polymeric proteins (unextractable, %UPP; total unextractable, TOTU) and large unextractable monomeric proteins (%LUMP) were closely associated with buildup and water absorption in dough. Major significant differences were found in the dough mixing parameters between the years within each group. In Groups S and MS, the majority of genotypes showed the smallest variation in the dough mixing parameters responsible for the gluten strength and dough development between the years. The mixing parameters such as time 1–2, buildup, and peak time (which were not affected by prolonged heat and drought stress) together with the selected gluten protein parameters (%UPP, TOTU, and %LUMP) are essential components to be used in future screening of dough mixing quality in wheat in severe growing environments.

A major new inventory of living marine Bivalvia (Mollusca) is based on 29 regional faunas. These again pick out strong latitudinal and longitudinal gradients in taxonomic diversity, but there are indications that the patterns are not so regular as previously thought. There are signs of asymmetry between the Northern and Southern Hemisphere latitudinal gradients, with the former tending to be more regular than the latter. Northern gradients are also characterized by a marked inflection at approximately 30°N, and the three Australian provinces seem to form a distinct “hot-spot” in the Southern Hemisphere. The larger of the two tropical high-diversity foci (the southern China-Indonesia-NE Australia one) appears to be much more nearly arcuate in plan view than oval and is closely associated with the world's richest development of coral reefs.A taxonomic and stratigraphic analysis reveals that the steepest latitudinal gradients are associated with the youngest bivalve clades. The most striking pattern is that shown by the heteroconchs, an essentially infaunal taxon that radiated extensively throughout the Cenozoic era. Steep gradients are also characteristic of the relatively young anomalodesmatan and arcoid clades and, somewhat surprisingly, the predominantly epifaunal pteriomorphs. Although the latter taxon falls within an older (i.e., “late Paleozoic-Jurassic”) group of clades, it is apparent that certain elements within it (and in particular the Pectinidae) radiated extensively in the latest Mesozoic-Cenozoic. A small but significant component of the later stages of the adaptive radiation of the Bivalvia comprised epifaunal taxa.The presence of the steepest latitudinal gradients in the youngest clades provides further evidence that the Tropics have served as a major center of evolutionary innovation. Even though some sort of retraction mechanism cannot be completely ruled out, these gradients are most likely the product of primary radiations. Clade history can be an important determinant of contemporary large-scale biodiversity patterns. The markedly lower diversity of some bivalve clades, such as the heteroconchs, in the high-latitude and polar regions may simply reflect the fact that they are not yet fully established there. In a way that is reminiscent of the onshore-offshore radiation of certain benthic marine invertebrate taxa, it may take periods of tens or even hundreds of millions of years for bivalve clades to disseminate fully across the earth's surface.The persistent spread of taxa from low- to high-latitude regions should perhaps come as no great surprise, as the tropical ocean is very much older than either of the polar ones. The late Cretaceous-Cenozoic evolutionary radiation of the Bivalvia was accompanied by a marked deterioration in global climates, and many new groups have yet to be fully assimilated into cool- and cold-water benthic ecosystems.

Cold- and deep-water species such as Molva species show low resilience to anthropogenic pressures, and they become particularly vulnerable at the warm edges of their distribution. In this study, the poorly documented Mediterranean ling (Molva macrophthalma) population from the northwestern Mediterranean Sea was analysed. This area is considered a cul-de-sac in a sea-warming hotspot, where M. macrophthalma shows a low population health status and is experiencing a climate-related reduction in abundance. Several life-history traits (length at maturity, reproductive cycle, fecundity style, oocyte recruitment pattern, and breeding strategy) are here described for the first time to evaluate the reproductive performance (oocyte diameter and production) in relation to the fish condition status (the HSI and relative condition index). Additionally, the results are compared with those of a population of a similar species, the blue ling (Molva dypterygia), inhabiting the cool edge of its distribution, hypothesised to have a higher condition status. Our results indicate that M. macrophthalma is a capital breeder with restricted secondary growth recruitment and group-synchronous oocyte development. In relative terms, the stressed southern M. macrophthalma exhibited a worse condition, a lower investment in reproduction, a smaller size at maturity, larger but fewer primary growth oocytes, and a smaller size-standardized production of secondary growth oocytes than the northern M. dypterygia. Significant differences in the secondary growth oocyte recruitment were also found. These findings reinforce the environment’s role in shaping the reproductive potential and condition status. Altogether, this study suggests high sensitivity to anthropogenic pressures for both species, and, especially for Mediterranean ling, it shows the importance of introducing monitoring and conservation measures to ensure the sustainability of its populations.

ABSTRACT We present the first in-depth study of X-ray emission from a nearby (z ∼ 0.0784) galaxy cluster Abell 1569 using an archival Chandra observation. A1569 consists of two unbound subclusters – a northern subcluster (A1569N) hosting a double-lobed radio galaxy 1233+169 at its centre, and a southern subcluster (A1569S) harbouring a wide-angle-tailed (WAT) radio source 1233+168. X-ray emission from A1569N and A1569S extends to a radius r ∼248 kpc and r ∼370 kpc, respectively, indicating that the two gas clumps are group-scale systems. The two subclusters have low X-ray luminosities (∼1042–43 erg s−1), average elemental abundances ∼1/4 Z⊙, low average temperatures (∼2 keV), and lack large (r ≳ 40–50 kpc) cool cores associated with the intracluster gas. We detect a pair of cavities coincident with the radio lobes of 1233+169 in A1569N. The total mechanical power associated with the cavity pair is an order of magnitude larger than the X-ray radiative loss in the cavity-occupied region, providing corroborating evidence for cavity-induced heating of the intragroup gas in A1569N. A1569S exhibits possible evidence for a small-scale cluster-subcluster merger, as indicated by its high central entropy, and the presence of local gas elongation and a density discontinuity in between the bent radio tails of 1233+168. The discontinuity is indicative of a weak merger shock with Mach Number, M ∼ 1.7. The most plausible geometry for the ongoing interaction is a head-on merger occurring between A1569S and a subcluster falling in from the west along the line bisecting the WAT tails.

Abstract. Palynological data from four surface sections in northern Tierra del Fuego, southern Argentina, provide a biostratigraphical and palaeoenvironmental framework for the lower member of the La Despedida Formation and the Cabo Peña Formation in their type areas. Selected dinoflagellate cyst (dinocyst) events indicate that the age of the lower member of the La Despedida Formation is Middle Eocene and that of the Cabo Peña Formation is Late Eocene–earliest Oligocene. The age assigned to the La Despedida Formation agrees with determinations based on calcareous microfossils, but there is a potential discrepancy regarding the Cabo Peña Formation. According to recent stratigraphic studies, the Cabo Domingo Group, which includes the Cabo Peña Formation, is Late Eocene–Miocene in age. The palynomorph assemblages from the lower member of the La Despedida Formation contain the endemic ‘Transantarctic Flora’, which reflects marginal marine conditions. The maximum abundance of Enneadocysta spp. reflects more open-sea conditions and a warming event during the late Middle Eocene. The lower part of the Cabo Peña Formation has a high ratio of dinocysts to sporomorphs and an abundance of Nematosphaeropsis lemniscata, Reticulatosphaera actinocoronata and Impagidinium spp., suggesting an oceanic to outer neritic environment. Abundant Gelatia inflata and protoperidiniacean cysts indicate cool surface waters rich in dissolved nutrients. These cold-water markers may reflect the development of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, an important event in the transition from a greenhouse to an icehouse climate mode. Toward the top of the sections, the lower ratios of dinocysts to sporomorphs, as well as the composition of the dinocyst assemblages, reflect a neritic rather than an oceanic setting. This palynological change may be due to eustatic sea-level lowering caused by cooling during the latest Eocene–earliest Oligocene. A new species, Spiniferites scalenus, is described and the new combination Lingulodinium echinatum proposed; an emendation for the latter species is also proposed.

Studies in trophic and chemical ecology, in particular in amphibians, have gained increasing attention in recent years, given that this is the vertebrate group that has suffered the greatest decline in recent years, caused by the degradation of natural ecosystems and emerging diseases. The assessment of food preferences and prey availability between areas and seasons provides important parameters for the understanding of the population dynamics of leaf-litter toads. The study of the secretions of the parotoid macroglands of these toads also provides insights into the role of these secretions in fighting frog pathogens and their potential applications to combat pathogens that are harmful to humans. In the present study, we describe the trophic ecology of Rhinella henseli (Lutz, 1934), and the variation in its diet between seasons and areas. We also attempt to identify the chemical composition of the secretions of the parotoid macrogland found in the parotoid glands and test their potential antimicrobial activity. We sampled two toad populations in the Atlantic Forest of southern Brazil. The composition of the diet was analysed by season (warm vs. cool) and study area, with the prey items being identified to genus, whenever possible, and classified using the Index of Relative Importance. The parotoid secretions were removed manually from the parotoid glands and analysed via HPLC-MS/MS. We ran microdilution and agar plug diffusion tests to assess antimicrobial activity. The principal prey of these toads are large ants, primarily Pachycondyla sp., which vary in abundance between seasons and, to a lesser extent, between areas. We identified 21 chemical compounds, primarily steroidal bufadienolides. One of the populations presented a subset of 14 of these 21 compounds, reflecting the variation in their spatial distribution. These compounds presented anti-pathogenic properties against Candida albicans and, to a lesser extent, Staphylococcus saprophyticus. Our results indicate that the diet of R. henseli varies significantly between areas and seasons, as do the secretions of their parotoid macroglands between areas. The toxins exhibit antimicrobial activity, although the compounds must be tested in isolation to confirm this.

In the Late Paleozoic and Early Mesozoic, during about 100 m.y., the world’s three largest batholiths (Angara-Vitim, Khangai, and Khentei, each up to 1 000 000 km3 in volume) had formed within the limits of the Central Asian orogenic belt. Considering the case of the Khangai batholith, the problem of how, when, and why such an extensive granite formation took place is analyzed. The geochronological data for granitoids of the batholith by U–Pb (ID-TIMS) and 40Ar/39Ar dating methods are systematized to distinguish three age groups of rocks. These rock groups are correlated to the geological events occurred in the region. The earliest group includes granitoids formed in the interval of 302–283 Ma. They tend to the western and southern framings of the batholith and correspond to the fragments of two igneous belts that crossed the region, where the batholith formed later, and reached the areas far beyond. The youngest group of igneous rocks (230–200 Ma) is developed in the eastern periphery of the batholith and corresponds to the marginal part of the large Early Mesozoic Mongol-Transbaikalian igneous zone, with the main part being located far away to the east of there. Igneous complexes that formed in the interval of 273–238 Ma correspond to the batholith proper. They are concentrated within the zone of 350 × 400 km in size and are represented by rocks of two associations: granite-granodiorite (Khangai complex) and granite-leucogranite (Sharaus Gol complex). The coeval analogs of these rocks are reported only in the framing of the batholith. The comparison between the Khangai batholith and two other giant ones (Angara-Vitim and Khentei) revealed their similarity in terms of structure and evolution. They are all composed of similar rock associations and are of comparable sizes and age intervals of formation. For example, the Angara-Vitim and Khentei batholiths formed mainly in the intervals of 305–275 and 229–195 Ma, respectively. The obtained estimates of formation time of ~30 m.y. should seemingly be considered as the time necessary for chambers of anatectic magmas, which to certain degree formed giant (~1 000 000 km3 in volume) batholiths, to cool down in the Earth’s interior. The formation of giant batholiths is attributed to the effect of mantle plumes on the lithosphere of a young fold zone that appeared as a result of accretionary-collisional events in the marginal part of the Siberian paleocontinent.

The genera Pseudosmittia Edwards, 1932, and Allocladius Kieffer, 1913, supported by parsimony analysis, can be divided into three groups, Pseudosmittia, Allocladius and Hydrosmittia gen. n. Generic diagnoses to all stages and both sexes of all three genera are given. The mostly Neotropical and Afrotropical Allocladius together with the mostly Holarctic and Afrotropical Hydrosmittia form the sister group of the more widespread Pseudosmittia. Allocladius in addition to some basal species is divided into a paraphyletic nearly Cosmopolitan fortispinatus group, a monotypic Afrotropical soemmei group, an Afrotropical and Palaearctic niger group, a Holarctic nanseni group, and a Neotropical, Afrotropical and Holarctic longicrus group; Hydrosmittia into an Afrotropical and Palaearctic brevicornis group and a mostly Holarctic ruttneri group. Pseudosmittia is divided into 13 species groups in phyletic sequence: gracilis [simplex + rotunda (topei (digitata (xanthostola + brachydicrana + insulsa)], [conjuncta (tokaraneoa + albipennis (brevifurcata (angusta group, divided into angusta, trilobata, lamasi, danconai, uncata and forcipata subgroups)]. The xanthostola and brachydicrana groups are with few exceptions known only from South Asia and the Indo-Pacific region, while most other groups are present in most regions. Keys to male and female imagines, pupae and larvae of all three genera are given. Type material of 180 species assigned to Pseudosmittia, Camptocladius v. d. Wulp, Spaniotoma Philippi, Smittia Holmgren, Mesosmittia Brundin, Orthosmittia Goetghebuer, Ancylocladius Sublette et Wirth, Allocladius Kieffer, and Lindebergia Tuiskunen, belonging to 15 museums have been re-examined, lectotypes designated, and new combinations and synonyms given. An additional 21 species are lost or could not be located, of these 5 are declared nomina dubia. Another 4 species were not available for study or not examined. Most of these could be placed in other genera or as synonyms of species in Pseudosmittia. One hundred and thirty species are treated, 37 of which are new, 93 species are completely redescribed in all available stages. The following new species are described: Allocladius bubatus, A. caspersi, A. deborae, A. hirticaudatus, A. luciniolus, A. soemmei, A. wangorum, Hydrosmittia aagaardi, H. annulata, H. falsicostata, H. soelii, H. tenuistylata, Pseudosmittia aculeathrix, P. acutilobata, P. carita, P. christmasensis, P. cristagata, P. cunealata, P. dolabrata, P. digitrienta, P. fusata, P. laticauda, P. legonensis, P. licina, P. longicornia, P. malickyi, P. navama, P. parifusata, P. parinavama, P. pedata, P. propetropis, P. pugnata, P. siamensis, P. spinispinata, P. tericristata, P. tokunagai, and P. unniae. Ten species of Allocladius (including 2 parthenogenetic), 4 species of Hydrosmittia (including 2 parthenogenetic), and 31 species of Pseudosmittia (including 3 parthenogenetic and 3 species known only from females) are known as female imagines; 5 species of Allocladius, 6 species of Hydrosmittia and 12 species of Pseudosmittia are known as pupae; and 4 species of Allocladius, 5 species of Hydrosmittia and 10 species of Pseudosmittia are known as larvae. Errors in previous publications are corrected and remarks on variation given. The genera treated contain at least 7 apparently obligate parthenogenetic species, while facultative parthenogenesis is found in at least one species and may be widespread. The species of Hydrosmittia probably all are truly aquatic, while Allocladius has species found in both fully aquatic environments and in moist earth. In Pseudosmittia there are no certain fully aquatic species. Most species appear to be semiaquatic to semiterrestrial or live in the marine intertidal zone. The insulsa, brachydicrana, and xanthostola groups contain mostly marine seashore species, and several groups have species, which larvae live both in semiaquatic freshwater localities and on the seashore. In the angusta group, however, only P. bifurcata appears to be intertidal.Only in Allocladius a cool southern transantarctic Gondwanian vicariance may have taken place, but combined with dispersal to West Asia, further to the Euro-Mediterranean and East Asian Regions, and across a Beringian Region to North America. A more northern warm Gondwanian connection between West Africa and East South America could be present but not common in Pseudosmittia. The dominating distribution pattern in Pseudosmittia appear to be caused by direct dispersal, in America across the Caribbean and the Central American lowland, in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific across oceans by floating debris and vegetation.

European hackberry (Celtis australis L.) is a popular shade tree mainly planted in southern Europe and known to be tolerant to dry and poor soils. In early autumn 2013, hackberry plants grown in soil in a commercial nursery located in the floodplain in Umbria region showed symptoms of wilting, dieback, and death. Up to 100% of the canopy was affected, and over 60% of the plants were symptomatic or dead. A Phytophthora species was consistently isolated from symptomatic 6-year-old plants by plating small pieces of collar and root tissues, cut from the margin of dark-brown necrotic lesions, onto P5ARPH selective medium (4). Pure cultures were obtained by single-hyphal transfers on potato dextrose agar (PDA). Sporangia, produced on pepper seeds in soil extract solution (3), were nonpapillate and noncaducous, measuring 34.0 to 85.0 × 22.0 to 50.0 μm. Oospores had an average diameter of 44 μm with mostly paragynous antheridia. On the basis of morphological features, the isolates were identified as P. megasperma Drech. (2). The identity was confirmed by sequencing the cytochrome c oxidase subunit II (Cox II) (5), which gave 100% identity with P. megasperma sequences available in GenBank (GU222070), and by sequencing the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) using the universal primers ITS4 and ITS6, which gave 99% identity with the AF266794 sequence from Cooke et al. (1). The sequences of one isolate (AB239) were deposited in the European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) with accession numbers HG973451 and HG973450 for Cox II and ITS, respectively. Pathogenicity tests were conducted in the greenhouse with isolate AB239 on eight 2-year-old potted European hackberry plants. Mycelial plugs (5 mm diameter) cut from the margins of actively growing 8-day-old cultures on PDA were inserted through the epidermis to the phloem at the collar level. Two plants were used as controls and treated as described above except that sterile PDA plugs replaced the inoculum. Inoculated plants were kept for 4 weeks in a greenhouse at 24 ± 2°C. During that period, inoculated plants showed wilting symptoms similar to those observed in the field. Lesions were evident at all the inoculation points progressing downward to the roots. Colonies of Phytophthora were isolated from the margins of lesions and identified as P. megasperma, thus fulfilling Koch's postulates. Controls remained symptomless. P. megasperma taxonomy is rather complex since it embraces different subgroups, including host specialized forms (formae speciales), some of which are recognized as biological species. Based on morphological and molecular data presented here, the Phytophthora isolates from hackberry belong to P. megasperma sensu stricto, which is included in the “pathogenic to a broad range of hosts” (BHR) group (1). This pathogen is rather polyphagous, attacking mainly fruit and ornamental woody plants, commonly Prunus spp., Malus spp., and Actinidia deliciosa. Like other homothallic Phytophthora species, it is particularly dangerous due to its abundant production of thick-walled resting oospores that enable long-term survival in the soil. To our knowledge this is the first report of P. megasperma sensu stricto (1) on C. australis and its family Ulmaceae/Cannabaceae. References: (1) D. E. L. Cooke et al. Fungal Genet. Biol. 30:17, 2000. (2) D. C. Erwin and O. K. Ribeiro, American Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, MN, 1996. (3) E. Ilieva et al. Eur. J. Plant Path. 101:623, 1995. (4) S. N. Jeffers and S. B. Martin. Plant Dis. 70:1038, 1986. (5) F. N. Martin and P. W. Tooley. Mycologia 95:269, 2003.

Waigeo Island is one of four large islands of the Raja Ampat group, West Papua Province. This area lies in the heart of the coral triangle region as the most marine bio-diversity on Earth. Coral reef ecosystem of the Waigeo is a favorable habitat for various organisms including foraminifera. Foraminifera have been proven as useful indicator of water quality surrounding the coral reef environment since FORAM Index was formulated. It gives additional importance of foraminifera beside their common uses on micropalaeontology for petroleum industry and palaeoecology. Therefore, it is very important to obtain data of the benthic foraminifera from various coral reef environments in Indonesia, such as around Waigeo Island. Sediment samples of this study were collected from 12 sites in southern part off Waigeo Island, on July 2011. Observation on benthic foraminifera shows that the study area is dominated by symbiotic bearing benthic foraminifera, Amphistegina lessonii, belongs to Suborder Rotaliina. This occurrence increases the values of FORAM Index (FI) at certain sites. Generally, the values of FI from most sites are high (FI>4) that provide a good indication for reef growth or recovery. The values of FI less than 2 are found at RJ3 and RJ4 indicate stress environment for reef growth and they are dominated by opportunistic and heterotrophic functional groups of Elphidium and Quinqueloculina. Keywords: benthic foraminifera, high value FI, Waigeo Island, West Papua Pulau Waegio merupakan salah satu dari empat pulau besar di Kepulauan Raja Ampat, Provinsi Papua Barat. Wilayah in terletak di jantung segitiga terumbu karang sebagai pusat paling kaya keanekaragaman hayatinya di bumi. Ekosistem terumbu karang Waigeo merupakan habitat yang cocok bagi kehidupan berbagai organisme termasuk foraminifera. Foraminifera telah terbukti sebagai indikator kualitas air sekitar terumbu karang setelah diformulasikan Indeks FORAM. Dengan demikian foraminifera telah mempunyai kegunaan tambahan selain fungsi umum dalam bidang mikropaleontologi pada industri perminyakan dan paleoekologi. Oleh karena itu sangat penting untuk mendapatkan data foraminifera bentik dari ekosistem terumbu karang di wilayah Indonesia, seperti perairan Pulau Waigeo. Sampel sedimen untuk studi ini diambil di 12 titik lokasi sebelah selatan Pulau Waigeo pada bulan Juli 2011. Hasil pengamatan memperlihatkan bahwa daerah penelitian di dominasi foraminifera bentik yang bersimbose dengan terumbu karang, Amphistegina lessonii, anggota Subordo Rotaliina. Kehadirannya meningkatkan nilai FI dari titik lokasi tertentu. Sebagian besar titik lokasi mempunyai nilai FI>4 memberi indikasi bahwa kondisi perairannya kondusif untuk pertumbuhan karang yang terletak di ekosistem terumbu karang. Secara umum, nilai FI di sebagian besar titik lokasi tinggi (>4) yang member indikasi kondisi lingkungan bagus bagi pertumbuhan karang. Nilai FI rendah (

Between the end of February 2007 and mid-February in 2008, 73 systematic surveys of waterbirds and raptors were carried out during 10-day periods at Cerknica polje (Southern Slovenia). The main objectives of our research were: to ascertain the abundance and temporal dynamics of the species occurring here, to specify their status, to make a comparison with the past period of systematic data gathering in the 1991-1992 period, to present estimates of the breeding, migrating and wintering populations, as well as to make, on these bases, a nature-conservancy evaluation of the area. Other ornithological data, acquired till the end of 2010, were gathered as well. Between the beginning of May and the beginning of September 2007, the water in the area virtually ran dry (it was retained only in the channels of the streams), while the surface itself was partially or fully icebound from mid-November 2007 till the beginning of February 2008. By the end of 2010, a total of 129 waterbird and raptor species were recorded at Cerknica polje, while in the 2007-2008 period 83 were registered. Dynamics of the species occurrence with more than nine observations made in the area is presented in a greater detail in the species overview. The breeding status was held by 27 bird species, while further seven were forage guests that bred in the vicinity of the study area. Most of the species (118) had the status of passage visitor, whereas those with the status of summer visitor (34) and winter visitor (40) were fewer. Among the recorded species, 34 were accidental and 21 rare visitors. There were 16 winter and seven summer residents, while year-round residents were six. In all 10-day periods of the research period, four species were recorded: Mallard Anas plathyrhynchos, Grey Heron Ardea cinerea, Buzzard Buteo buteo and Kestrel Falco tinnunculus. In more than 90% of 10-day periods, the Great Egret Ardea alba was recorded as well. In the 2007-2008 period, two species were eudominant (Mallard 27.2%, Buzzard 10.1%), whereas another two were dominant (Garganey Anas querquedula 7.4%, Coot Fulica atra 6.4%). Most individuals were registered at the end of March and in early April (up to 1,978 ind.), whereas the greatest numbers of species (48) were recorded in mid-April. Between May and August, the numbers of individuals and species were low owing to the dried up lake. The smallest area of occurrence was occupied by the Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo and a group of ducks of the genera Aythya, Bucephala and Mergellus. Gulls, egrets, herons, waders, harriers Circus sp. and the Red-footed Kestrel Falco vespertinus occurred in the greater part of the research area. 10 breeders fulfilled the criteria of the species of the greatest conservation importance, two of which (Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca and Curlew Numenius arquata) are species of global conservation concern, whereas seven are of conservation concern on a European scale. Among non-breeders, 14 waterbird species and raptors occurred in significant numbers (> 0.1% biogeographical population), five of which occurred at least occasionally with more than 1% of their biographical population. Two species (Red-necked Grebe Podiceps grisegena and Snipe Gallinago gallinago) breed in Slovenia only at Cerknica polje, while further six species have here at least 40% of their Slovenian breeding population

Cooking pits – in clusters or in rowsCooking pits can occur either arranged in one or more rows, following a roughly parallel course, or in clusters of up to several hundred closely-spaced examples with no apparent pattern in their location. This type of structure is known from Southern Scandinavia, Germany and Poland. Most cooking-pit systems belong to the Bronze Age, but occasional examples date from the Early Iron Age.The cooking-pit complexes are described according to the following characteristics: 1) location in the landscape, 2) proximity to water, 3) distance to contemporary settlements, hoards and graves, 4) uniformity of form and content and 5) paucity of finds (Heidelk-Schacht 1989).In recent years in Denmark, attention has become focussed on cooking-pit systems and many new examples have been investigated (fig. 1). There are at least 42 known sites (fig. 2) comprising a total of at least 4300 cooking pits. However, as most rows or clusters of cooking pits have not been fully excavated, the real number is much greater. There are virtually no da­table finds from the pits, as a consequence of which there is a tendency to date these features alone on the basis of their form and structure. Radiocarbon dates are the most important source when dating and many new sites, especially with uni-seriate arrangements of cooking pits, have been scientifically dated.In this article, the cooking-pit question is examined with a point of departure in a uni-seriate system at Frammerslev in Salling and a complex system at Brok­bakken, Bjerringbro.FrammerslevDuring Skive Museum’s investigations in 2002 and 2006, discoveries included a uni-seriate cooking-pit system and a 31 m-long row of postholes 200 m further to the east, parallel to the row of cooking pits. The row of cooking pits (fig. 3) lies on a plateau located on a large promontory. The promontory hosts several concentrations and a row of burial mounds, constituting a marked feature in the landscape, also in the Late Bronze Age. The row of cooking pits runs directly towards a burial mound in both directions. Six cremation graves were found in the burial mounds, indicating that they were also used for burial purposes in the Late Bronze Age. There is no settlement in the vicinity.The row of cooking pits comprises 33 pits located in extension of one another, forming a 67 m-long northeast-southwest oriented row (fig. 4). Towards the northeast, the row continues in a more scattered fashion with a further seven cooking pits. In the middle of the series there is a complex of at least four cooking pits ( fig. 4, no. 1), of which two are included in the row. Repeated re-cutting can be seen in the complex and this is the only site so far where repeated use can be documented. At Frammerslev, there are subsidiary cooking pits associated with the row – a feature also seen at Roerstensgård and Bækmarksgård.The other cooking pits in the Frammerslev row are circular or elongate-oval. On the basis of the deposits in the pits, a typology has been constructed (fig. 5).When the cooking pits are classified according to the presence or absence of a compact charcoal-rich layer at their base, as well as one or two overlying layers, two main types can be identified, one with three, and one with two sub-types:Type 1 includes cooking pits with a black, compact charcoal-rich basal layer. Type 1a has a basal layer of charcoal and over this a yellow to brownish-yellow layer with red-burnt areas and, uppermost, brown topsoil material with scattered fire-shattered stones and charcoal. There may be red-burnt soil at the edge of the pit. There are, accordingly, three layers within the cooking pit and the red-burnt layer over the charcoal is unbroken and follows the course of any subsidence in the pit. Type 1b has brown topsoil-like fill directly over the basal charcoal layer. There are, accordingly, only two layers in the cooking pit. Type 1c comprises a black charcoal-rich basal layer with a substantial content of fire-shattered stones in the same layer as the charcoal, by which it distinguishes itself from types 1a and 1b. Type 2 covers cooking pits lacking black charcoal layers and possibly also without fire-shattered stones. In the case of type 2a, the whole pit is filled with brown clay, possibly lacking, or with only occasional scattered, fire-shattered stones and with very little charcoal. There is no red-burnt subsoil associated with these pits. With type 2b, the basal layer comprises clay with a very low content of charcoal and occasional fire-shattered stones or yellow to brownish-yellow clay with many small pieces of fire-shattered stone but no charcoal and no red-burnt clay.As can be seen from the overview (fig. 6) of the cross-sections of the cooking pits, there is great uniformity within, respectively, types 1a and 2a.Cooking pits of type 1 were primarily hearths where the cooking stones were heated in situ and the subsoil has become coloured by the effect of the intense heat. Subsequently, the pit served its purpose as, presumably, a cooking place for the roasting of meat. While the stones were still hot the fire was extinguished by being covered by thin layers of soil being thrown in; in several cases these can be seen to have acquired a reddish colour due to the effect of the heat. In several of the cooking pits there are very small fire-shattered stones, presumably the result of repeated use. Finally, the pit was either intentionally covered after its last usage or stood open and, with time, became filled with soil-rich culture layers. Accordingly, the cooking pit represents a complete series of events.The cooking pits of main type 2, with no or few fire-shattered stones, no or only a little charcoal and lacking red-coloured subsoil, must be explained in a different way. Either fire was never lit in the cooking pit – in which case it is difficult to maintain the term cooking pit and the pit could perhaps represent a kind of preliminary phase to its actual use, or the pit has been completely cleaned out after use, resulting in only the overlying layers being present. This type represents perhaps the pre- and post-phases of the actual cooking-pit activity.By examining the distribution of types 1 and 2, a pattern emerges which can provide the basis for an interpretation of the uni-seriate structure at Frammerslev (see fig. 4). Cooking pits of type 1 are the deepest and lie on both sides of the large central pit. Cooking pits of type 2 lie further away at both the northeastern and southwestern ends. This distribution of types suggest that the most commonly-used features are the central ones and that the row grew successively out from this core. Two shallow pits of type 2 furthest to the north could perhaps be the beginning of the next stage.The cooking pits at Frammerslev have not been archaeologically dated on the basis of artefacts. Two cooking pits of type 1 have been radiocarbon dated (fig. 7). If account is taken of the greatest uncertainty, the calibrated dates are, respectively, 860-790 BC and 1070-830 BC, i.e. Late Bronze Age, periods IV-V.Uni-seriate structures are found on Funen and Zealand and in Central and Northwestern Jutland and have many common features. They have often a marked location in the landscape, several occur on or near the highest point, for example on larger or smaller promontories extending out into a wetland area. Virtually all the uni-seriate cooking-pit rows lie in the vicinity of a wetland. Five out of 11 uni-seriate cooking-pit rows point in the direction of a burial mound. It is difficult to judge whether the cooking-pit rows lie remotely relative to settlements and burial grounds; investigation of even greater areas would be required in order to establish with certainty the absence of contemporary sites in the vicinity. This situation is further complicated by the fact that the houses from this period appear to be located quite a distance apart.The uni-seriate cooking-pit structures are, as a rule, lacking in finds. Nine uni-seriate cooking-pit rows have been radiocarbon dated (fig. 9). The radiocarbon dates reveal that the cooking-pit systems were used in the Late Bronze Age, periods IV-V, especially in the years between 950 and 800 BC.Brokbakken I-IIIIn the period between 1990 and 2008, Viborg Stiftsmuseum carried out several arch­aeological investigations on a 20 hectare site at Bjerringbro. These excavations have been named Brokbakken I-III. By way of the excavations at Brokbakken it has proved possible to demonstrate that large and small concentrations of cooking pits can be found in the vicinity of a multi-seriate system of cooking pits.Brokbakken comprises a delimited promontory (fig. 10), bordered on three sides by 8-10 m high steep slopes and gullies running out towards the flat Gudenå river valley. To the southeast, the promontory slopes gently without any natural boundary. The concentration of cooking pits at Brokbakken II lies a little withdrawn from the edge of the promontory, facing out towards a small gulley. The multi-seriate system of cooking pits, Brokbakken III, lies along the edge of an extensive valley which, 1.5 km distant, runs into the Gudenå.Brokbakken I yielded a concentration of 30 cooking pits, especially of type 1b, together with refuse pits from the Late Bronze Age, periods IV-V.At Brokbakken II, there is a concentration of 85 densely-placed cooking pits, primarily of type 1c (basal layer comprising a mixture of charcoal and fire-shattered stones), as well as several smaller clusters (fig. 11). There are a few finds, including a collection of sherds (fig. 12) from a c. 23 cm high vessel. Radiocarbon dating of a cooking pit shows that, when the greatest uncertainty is taken into account, it was in use between 1130 and 840 BC (see fig. 7), i.e. in Late Bronze Age, periods IV-V.At Brokbakken III, a multi-seriate system of cooking pits was investigated in 1997. This comprised 110 examples arranged in three to four rows (termed rows F, G, I and J), forming a fan shape (fig. 13), as well as 42 cooking pits lying individually or in smaller or larger concentrations. The majority of the cooking pits are circular or oval and they vary in size.The cooking pits at Brokbakken III are built up according to the same basic principles as those at Frammerslev, and cooking pits of types 1b, 2a and 2b are present. Cooking pits with a compact layer of charcoal at the base are, conversely, absent, but these are presumably replaced by cooking pits of type 1c. Overall, it can be seen that the majority of the cooking pits, in all 55% of all those which were sectioned, belong to type 1b.When account is taken of the greatest uncertainty in the radiocarbon dates, the cooking pit alignments can be seen to have been in use in the period 1020-800 BC, i.e. Late Bronze Age, periods IV-V.Multi-seriate cooking-pit systems are known from 10 localities on Zealand, Funen and Bornholm, and in Jutland. They are located on hillsides or level ground with small elevations or on flat promontories extending out into wetland areas. The cooking-pit rows are found by bogs, lakes and watercourses. The multi-seriate cooking-pit systems have no fixed orientation and several structures follow a meandering or curved course. At the known localities, there are between two and 15-16 rows of cooking pits, and it seems that systems comprising three to four rows are commonest. Five structures have been dated to the Late Bronze Age, periods IV, V and VI.Concentrations of cooking pits with more than 25 cooking pits are known from 20 localities on Zealand, Møn and Funen and in Jutland (see fig. 2). The concentrations have very diverse locations – some are on or by marked hill tops or on an even plateau, while others occur on sloping terrain as well as on the floor of a valley. The cooking-pit concentrations lie in the vicinity of lakes, watercourses or bogs or close to open water.A cooking-pit concentration at Fårdalgård (fig. 19) lies in undulating terrain, virtually a promontory. On the plateau behind the cooking pits, settlement traces from the Late Bronze Age have been found. Further away, there are burial mounds and only 100 m away lies the find site for the famous Fårdal hoard. The latter is dated to the Late Bronze Age, period V, and the system of cooking pits can, as a whole, be dated on the basis of pottery to the Late Bronze Age; this also applies to other concentrations of cooking pits.ConclusionSystems of cooking pits must be seen in a wider context, where their topographic location and information on the area’s settlements, burial grounds and hoards are included in the evaluation. On the basis of topographic location, it is reasonable to suggest that uni-seriate structures could have had a different function from multi-seriate examples, and that the complexity is further increased if there are both rows and concentrations of cooking pits at the same site.Uni-seriate structures are often located high up in the vicinity of, or pointing towards, burial mounds containing finds from both the Early and Late Bronze Age. These structures should probably be interpreted in conjunction with the burial mounds, and be seen as cultic features employed in connection with burials or other ceremonies associated with the cult. Their physical form, a long row of cooking pits at Frammerslev, constitutes a clear eastern demarcation and the associated row of postholes is a clear western demarcation of the row of burial mounds. The group of burial mounds towards the north could be a form of transverse demarcation of the area. In this way, areas are created within the landscape, each of different significance – outside and inside – a totally ritual landscape.The multi-seriate systems and large concentrations of cooking pits are often conspicuously located in areas with watercourses, lakes or bogs or facing out towards open water. Several sites, such as Brokbakken I-III and Fårdalgård, are located on marked promontories extending out into large river valleys where offerings have been found in the vicinity. It seems obvious to imagine these large concentrations and numerous rows of cooking pits as the result of many people’s activities in connection with great gatherings and cultic ceremonies. The argument can be made for an supra-regional presence of people, and the site can, therefore, be interpreted as a gathering place for a larger area.Figure 20 shows the location of the cooking-pit concentrations relative to the main watercourses in Central Jutland: Gudenå, Skals Å and Nørre Å. There is about 30 km in a straight line from the concentrations of cooking pits in Lynderup to the cooking pits of both Brokbakken I-III and Munkebo. Within this area, with its meandering river systems, and the areas of land they delimit, there are several systems of cooking pits. Their location in the landscape suggests some form of territorial division. We can almost predict the location of the next structure in the landscape!Brokbakken I-III also demonstrates, at a superior level, a form of division of the landscape. High up on the promontory there are cooking pits and traces of metalworking delimited by the slightly lower-lying multi-seriate system of cooking pits. Below the promontory by the Gudenå there is an offering area. On the plateau nearest the promontory there are scattered traces of settlement and in the burial mounds further away the rich graves of important people. If this interpretation of the landscape is correct, the systems of cooking pits can have had a function as markers in the ritual landscape.The investigations of rows of cooking pits show that there are differences in the physical composition of the individual structures, but it is the fill layers which form the basis for a more subtle interpretation of their function. These layers could represent various stages of use and cleaning out. The investigation at Frammerslev shows that the rows of cooking pits were used several times, and it is possible to argue for successive expansion. A form of division into separate sections is also seen at several sites.On the basis of many ethnographic parallels and practical experiments, it has been suggested that the cooking pits were used to cook meat. If we accept that the cooking pits of type 1 were used for cooking, and that food for 10 people can be prepared in a single pit, the systems of cooking pits at Frammerslev could have been used to prepare food for 60-100 people, while those at Brokbakken III could perhaps provide for 800-1000 individuals.Inge Kjær KristensenMuseum SallingSkive Museum

Climate change induced sea-level rise (SLR) is on its increase globally. Regionally the lowlands of China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and islands of the Malaysian, Indonesian and Philippine archipelagos are among the world’s most threatened regions. Sea-level rise has major impacts on the ecosystems and society. It threatens coastal populations, economic activities, and fragile ecosystems as mangroves, coastal salt-marches and wetlands. This paper provides a summary of the current state of knowledge of sea level-rise and its effects on both human and natural ecosystems. The focus is on coastal urban areas and low lying deltas in South-East Asia and Vietnam, as one of the most threatened areas in the world. About 3 mm per year reflects the growing consensus on the average SLR worldwide. The trend speeds up during recent decades. The figures are subject to local, temporal and methodological variation. In Vietnam the average values of 3.3 mm per year during the 1993-2014 period are above the worldwide average. Although a basic conceptual understanding exists that the increasing global frequency of the strongest tropical cyclones is related with the increasing temperature and SLR, this relationship is insufficiently understood. Moreover the precise, complex environmental, economic, social, and health impacts are currently unclear. SLR, storms and changing precipitation patterns increase flood risks, in particular in urban areas. Part of the current scientific debate is on how urban agglomeration can be made more resilient to flood risks. Where originally mainly technical interventions dominated this discussion, it becomes increasingly clear that proactive special planning, flood defense, flood risk mitigation, flood preparation, and flood recovery are important, but costly instruments. Next to the main focus on SLR and its effects on resilience, the paper reviews main SLR associated impacts: Floods and inundation, salinization, shoreline change, and effects on mangroves and wetlands. The hazards of SLR related floods increase fastest in urban areas. This is related with both the increasing surface major cities are expected to occupy during the decades to come and the increasing coastal population. In particular Asia and its megacities in the southern part of the continent are increasingly at risk. The discussion points to complexity, inter-disciplinarity, and the related uncertainty, as core characteristics. An integrated combination of mitigation, adaptation and resilience measures is currently considered as the most indicated way to resist SLR today and in the near future.References Aerts J.C.J.H., Hassan A., Savenije H.H.G., Khan M.F., 2000. Using GIS tools and rapid assessment techniques for determining salt intrusion: Stream a river basin management instrument. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Part B: Hydrology, Oceans and Atmosphere, 25, 265-273. Doi: 10.1016/S1464-1909(00)00014-9. Alongi D.M., 2002. Present state and future of the world’s mangrove forests. Environmental Conservation, 29, 331-349. Doi: 10.1017/S0376892902000231 Alongi D.M., 2015. The impact of climate change on mangrove forests. Curr. Clim. Change Rep., 1, 30-39. Doi: 10.1007/s404641-015-0002-x. Anderson F., Al-Thani N., 2016. Effect of sea level rise and groundwater withdrawal on seawater intrusion in the Gulf Coast aquifer: Implications for agriculture. Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection, 4, 116-124. Doi: 10.4236/gep.2016.44015. Anguelovski I., Chu E., Carmin J., 2014. Variations in approaches to urban climate adaptation: Experiences and experimentation from the global South. Global Environmental Change, 27, 156-167. Doi: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2014.05.010. Arustienè J., Kriukaitè J., Satkunas J., Gregorauskas M., 2013. Climate change and groundwater - From modelling to some adaptation means in example of Klaipèda region, Lithuania. In: Climate change adaptation in practice. P. Schmidt-Thomé, J. Klein Eds. John Wiley and Sons Ltd., Chichester, UK., 157-169. Bamber J.L., Aspinall W.P., Cooke R.M., 2016. A commentary on “how to interpret expert judgement assessments of twenty-first century sea-level rise” by Hylke de Vries and Roderik S.W. Van de Wal. Climatic Change, 137, 321-328. Doi: 10.1007/s10584-016-1672-7. Barnes C., 2014. Coastal population vulnerability to sea level rise and tropical cyclone intensification under global warming. BSc-thesis. Department of Geography, University of Lethbridge, Alberta Canada. Be T.T., Sinh B.T., Miller F., 2007. Challenges to sustainable development in the Mekong Delta: Regional and national policy issues and research needs. The Sustainable Mekong Research Network, Bangkok, Thailand, 1-210. Bellard C., Leclerc C., Courchamp F., 2014. Impact of sea level rise on 10 insular biodiversity hotspots. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 23, 203-212. Doi: 10.1111/geb.12093. Berg H., Söderholm A.E., Sönderström A.S., Nguyen Thanh Tam, 2017. Recognizing wetland ecosystem services for sustainable rice farming in the Mekong delta, Vietnam. Sustainability Science, 12, 137-154. Doi: 10.1007/s11625-016-0409-x. Bilskie M.V., Hagen S.C., Medeiros S.C., Passeri D.L., 2014. Dynamics of sea level rise and coastal flooding on a changing landscape. Geophysical Research Letters, 41, 927-934. Doi: 10.1002/2013GL058759. Binh T.N.K.D., Vromant N., Hung N.T., Hens L., Boon E.K., 2005. Land cover changes between 1968 and 2003 in Cai Nuoc, Ca Mau penisula, Vietnam. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 7, 519-536. Doi: 10.1007/s10668-004-6001-z. Blankespoor B., Dasgupta S., Laplante B., 2014. Sea-level rise and coastal wetlands. Ambio, 43, 996- 005.Doi: 10.1007/s13280-014-0500-4. Brockway R., Bowers D., Hoguane A., Dove V., Vassele V., 2006. A note on salt intrusion in funnel shaped estuaries: Application to the Incomati estuary, Mozambique.Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 66, 1-5. Doi: 10.1016/j.ecss.2005.07.014. Cannaby H., Palmer M.D., Howard T., Bricheno L., Calvert D., Krijnen J., Wood R., Tinker J., Bunney C., Harle J., Saulter A., O’Neill C., Bellingham C., Lowe J., 2015. Projected sea level rise and changes in extreme storm surge and wave events during the 21st century in the region of Singapore. Ocean Sci. Discuss, 12, 2955-3001. Doi: 10.5194/osd-12-2955-2015. Carraro C., Favero A., Massetti E., 2012. Investment in public finance in a green, low carbon economy. Energy Economics, 34, S15-S18. Castan-Broto V., Bulkeley H., 2013. A survey ofurban climate change experiments in 100 cities. Global Environmental Change, 23, 92-102. Doi: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2012.07.005. Cazenave A., Le Cozannet G., 2014. Sea level rise and its coastal impacts. GeoHealth, 2, 15-34. Doi: 10.1002/2013EF000188. Chu M.L., Guzman J.A., Munoz-Carpena R., Kiker G.A., Linkov I., 2014. A simplified approach for simulating changes in beach habitat due to the combined effects of long-term sea level rise, storm erosion and nourishment. Environmental modelling and software, 52, 111-120. Doi.org/10.1016/j.envcsoft.2013.10.020. Church J.A. et al., 2013. Sea level change. In: Climate change 2013: The physical science basis. Contribution of working group I to the fifth assessment report of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Eds: Stocker T.F., Qin D., Plattner G.-K., Tignor M., Allen S.K., Boschung J., Nauels A., Xia Y., Bex V., Midgley P.M., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. Connell J., 2016. Last days of the Carteret Islands? Climate change, livelihoods and migration on coral atolls. Asia Pacific Viewpoint, 57, 3-15. Doi: 10.1111/apv.12118. Dasgupta S., Laplante B., Meisner C., Wheeler, Yan J., 2009. The impact of sea level rise on developing countries: A comparative analysis. Climatic Change, 93, 379-388. Doi: 10.1007/s 10584-008-9499-5. Delbeke J., Vis P., 2015. EU climate policy explained, 136p. Routledge, Oxon, UK. DiGeorgio M., 2015. Bargaining with disaster: Flooding, climate change, and urban growth ambitions in QuyNhon, Vietnam. Public Affairs, 88, 577-597. Doi: 10.5509/2015883577. Do Minh Duc, Yasuhara K., Nguyen Manh Hieu, 2015. Enhancement of coastal protection under the context of climate change: A case study of Hai Hau coast, Vietnam. Proceedings of the 10th Asian Regional Conference of IAEG, 1-8. Do Minh Duc, Yasuhara K., Nguyen Manh Hieu, Lan Nguyen Chau, 2017. Climate change impacts on a large-scale erosion coast of Hai Hau district, Vietnam and the adaptation. Journal of Coastal Conservation, 21, 47-62. Donner S.D., Webber S., 2014. Obstacles to climate change adaptation decisions: A case study of sea level rise; and coastal protection measures in Kiribati. Sustainability Science, 9, 331-345. Doi: 10.1007/s11625-014-0242-z. Driessen P.P.J., Hegger D.L.T., Bakker M.H.N., Van Renswick H.F.M.W., Kundzewicz Z.W., 2016. Toward more resilient flood risk governance. Ecology and Society, 21, 53-61. Doi: 10.5751/ES-08921-210453. Duangyiwa C., Yu D., Wilby R., Aobpaet A., 2015. Coastal flood risks in the Bangkok Metropolitan region, Thailand: Combined impacts on land subsidence, sea level rise and storm surge. American Geophysical Union, Fall meeting 2015, abstract#NH33C-1927. Duarte C.M., Losada I.J., Hendriks I.E., Mazarrasa I., Marba N., 2013. The role of coastal plant communities for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Nature Climate Change, 3, 961-968. Doi: 10.1038/nclimate1970. Erban L.E., Gorelick S.M., Zebker H.A., 2014. Groundwater extraction, land subsidence, and sea-level rise in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Environmental Research Letters, 9, 1-20. Doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/9/8/084010. FAO - Food and Agriculture Organisation, 2007.The world’s mangroves 1980-2005. FAO Forestry Paper, 153, Rome, Italy. Farbotko C., 2010. Wishful sinking: Disappearing islands, climate refugees and cosmopolitan experimentation. Asia Pacific Viewpoint, 51, 47-60. Doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8373.2010.001413.x. Goltermann D., Ujeyl G., Pasche E., 2008. Making coastal cities flood resilient in the era of climate change. Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on flood defense: Managing flood risk, reliability and vulnerability, 148-1-148-11. Toronto, Canada. Gong W., Shen J., 2011. The response of salt intrusion to changes in river discharge and tidal mixing during the dry season in the Modaomen Estuary, China.Continental Shelf Research, 31, 769-788. Doi: 10.1016/j.csr.2011.01.011. Gosian L., 2014. Protect the world’s deltas. Nature, 516, 31-34. Graham S., Barnett J., Fincher R., Mortreux C., Hurlimann A., 2015. Towards fair outcomes in adaptation to sea-level rise. Climatic Change, 130, 411-424. Doi: 10.1007/s10584-014-1171-7. COASTRES-D-12-00175.1. Güneralp B., Güneralp I., Liu Y., 2015. Changing global patterns of urban expoàsure to flood and drought hazards. Global Environmental Change, 31, 217-225. Doi: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.01.002. Hallegatte S., Green C., Nicholls R.J., Corfee-Morlot J., 2013. Future flood losses in major coastal cities. Nature Climate Change, 3, 802-806. Doi: 10.1038/nclimate1979. Hamlington B.D., Strassburg M.W., Leben R.R., Han W., Nerem R.S., Kim K.-Y., 2014. Uncovering an anthropogenic sea-level rise signal in the Pacific Ocean. Nature Climate Change, 4, 782-785. Doi: 10.1038/nclimate2307. Hashimoto T.R., 2001. Environmental issues and recent infrastructure development in the Mekong Delta: Review, analysis and recommendations with particular reference to large-scale water control projects and the development of coastal areas. Working paper series (Working paper No. 4). Australian Mekong Resource Centre, University of Sydney, Australia, 1-70. Hibbert F.D., Rohling E.J., Dutton A., Williams F.H., Chutcharavan P.M., Zhao C., Tamisiea M.E., 2016. Coral indicators of past sea-level change: A global repository of U-series dated benchmarks. Quaternary Science Reviews, 145, 1-56. Doi: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.04.019. Hinkel J., Lincke D., Vafeidis A., Perrette M., Nicholls R.J., Tol R.S.J., Mazeion B., Fettweis X., Ionescu C., Levermann A., 2014. Coastal flood damage and adaptation costs under 21st century sea-level rise. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111, 3292-3297. Doi: 10.1073/pnas.1222469111. Hinkel J., Nicholls R.J., Tol R.S.J., Wang Z.B., Hamilton J.M., Boot G., Vafeidis A.T., McFadden L., Ganapolski A., Klei R.J.Y., 2013. A global analysis of erosion of sandy beaches and sea level rise: An application of DIVA. Global and Planetary Change, 111, 150-158. Doi: 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2013.09.002. Huong H.T.L., Pathirana A., 2013. Urbanization and climate change impacts on future urban flooding in Can Tho city, Vietnam. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 379-394. Doi: 10.5194/hess-17-379-2013. Hurlimann A., Barnett J., Fincher R., Osbaldiston N., Montreux C., Graham S., 2014. Urban planning and sustainable adaptation to sea-level rise. Landscape and Urban Planning, 126, 84-93. Doi: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2013.12.013. IMHEN-Vietnam Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment, 2011. Climate change vulnerability and risk assessment study for Ca Mau and KienGiang provinces, Vietnam. Hanoi, Vietnam Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment (IMHEN), 250p. IMHEN-Vietnam Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment, Ca Mau PPC, 2011. Climate change impact and adaptation study in The Mekong Delta - Part A: Ca Mau Atlas. Hanoi, Vietnam: Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment (IMHEN), 48p. IPCC-Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2014. Fifth assessment report. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. Jevrejeva S., Jackson L.P., Riva R.E.M., Grinsted A., Moore J.C., 2016. Coastal sea level rise with warming above 2°C. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113, 13342-13347. Doi: 10.1073/pnas.1605312113. Junk W.J., AN S., Finlayson C.M., Gopal B., Kvet J., Mitchell S.A., Mitsch W.J., Robarts R.D., 2013. Current state of knowledge regarding the world’s wetlands and their future under global climate change: A synthesis. Aquatic Science, 75, 151-167. Doi: 10.1007/s00027-012-0278-z. Jordan A., Rayner T., Schroeder H., Adger N., Anderson K., Bows A., Le Quéré C., Joshi M., Mander S., Vaughan N., Whitmarsh L., 2013. Going beyond two degrees? The risks and opportunities of alternative options. Climate Policy, 13, 751-769. Doi: 10.1080/14693062.2013.835705. Kelly P.M., Adger W.N., 2000. Theory and practice in assessing vulnerability to climate change and facilitating adaptation. Climatic Change, 47, 325-352. Doi: 10.1023/A:1005627828199. Kirwan M.L., Megonigal J.P., 2013. Tidal wetland stability in the face of human impacts and sea-level rice. Nature, 504, 53-60. Doi: 10.1038/nature12856. Koerth J., Vafeidis A.T., Hinkel J., Sterr H., 2013. What motivates coastal households to adapt pro actively to sea-level rise and increased flood risk? Regional Environmental Change, 13, 879-909. Doi: 10.1007/s10113-12-399-x. Kontgis K., Schneider A., Fox J;,Saksena S., Spencer J.H., Castrence M., 2014. Monitoring peri urbanization in the greater Ho Chi Minh City metropolitan area. Applied Geography, 53, 377-388. Doi: 10.1016/j.apgeogr.2014.06.029. Kopp R.E., Horton R.M., Little C.M., Mitrovica J.X., Oppenheimer M., Rasmussen D.J., Strauss B.H., Tebaldi C., 2014. Probabilistic 21st and 22nd century sea-level projections at a global network of tide-gauge sites. Earth’s Future, 2, 383-406. Doi: 10.1002/2014EF000239. Kuenzer C., Bluemel A., Gebhardt S., Quoc T., Dech S., 2011. Remote sensing of mangrove ecosystems: A review.Remote Sensing, 3, 878-928. Doi: 10.3390/rs3050878. Lacerda G.B.M., Silva C., Pimenteira C.A.P., Kopp Jr. R.V., Grumback R., Rosa L.P., de Freitas M.A.V., 2013. Guidelines for the strategic management of flood risks in industrial plant oil in the Brazilian coast: Adaptive measures to the impacts of sea level rise. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 19, 104-1062. Doi: 10.1007/s11027-013-09459-x. Lam Dao Nguyen, Pham Van Bach, Nguyen Thanh Minh, Pham Thi Mai Thy, Hoang Phi Hung, 2011. Change detection of land use and river bank in Mekong Delta, Vietnam using time series remotely sensed data. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2, 370-374. Doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-764x.2011.04.011. Lang N.T., Ky B.X., Kobayashi H., Buu B.C., 2004. Development of salt tolerant varieties in the Mekong delta. JIRCAS Project, Can Tho University, Can Tho, Vietnam, 152. Le Cozannet G., Rohmer J., Cazenave A., Idier D., Van de Wal R., de Winter R., Pedreros R., Balouin Y., Vinchon C., Oliveros C., 2015. Evaluating uncertainties of future marine flooding occurrence as sea-level rises. Environmental Modelling and Software, 73, 44-56. Doi: 10.1016/j.envsoft.2015.07.021. Le Cozannet G., Manceau J.-C., Rohmer J., 2017. Bounding probabilistic sea-level projections with the framework of the possible theory. Environmental Letters Research, 12, 12-14. Doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa5528.Chikamoto Y., 2014. Recent Walker circulation strengthening and Pacific cooling amplified by Atlantic warming. Nature Climate Change, 4, 888-892. Doi: 10.1038/nclimate2330. Lovelock C.E., Cahoon D.R., Friess D.A., Gutenspergen G.R., Krauss K.W., Reef R., Rogers K., Saunders M.L., Sidik F., Swales A., Saintilan N., Le Xuan Tuyen, Tran Triet, 2015. The vulnerability of Indo-Pacific mangrove forests to sea-level rise. Nature, 526, 559-563. Doi: 10.1038/nature15538. MA Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005. Ecosystems and human well-being: Current state and trends. Island Press, Washington DC, 266p. Masterson J.P., Fienen M.N., Thieler E.R., Gesch D.B., Gutierrez B.T., Plant N.G., 2014. Effects of sea level rise on barrier island groundwater system dynamics - ecohydrological implications. Ecohydrology, 7, 1064-1071. Doi: 10.1002/eco.1442. McGanahan G., Balk D., Anderson B., 2007. The rising tide: Assessing the risks of climate changes and human settlements in low elevation coastal zones.Environment and urbanization, 19, 17-37. Doi: 10.1177/095624780707960. McIvor A., Möller I., Spencer T., Spalding M., 2012. Reduction of wind and swell waves by mangroves. The Nature Conservancy and Wetlands International, 1-27. Merryn T., Pidgeon N., Whitmarsh L., Ballenger R., 2016. Expert judgements of sea-level rise at the local scale. Journal of Risk Research, 19, 664-685. Doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2015.1043568. Monioudi I.N., Velegrakis A.F., Chatzipavlis A.E., Rigos A., Karambas T., Vousdoukas M.I., Hasiotis T., Koukourouvli N., Peduzzi P., Manoutsoglou E., Poulos S.E., Collins M.B., 2017. Assessment of island beach erosion due to sea level rise: The case of the Aegean archipelago (Eastern Mediterranean). Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 449-466. Doi: 10.5194/nhess-17-449-2017. MONRE - Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, 2016. Scenarios of climate change and sea level rise for Vietnam. Publishing House of Environmental Resources and Maps Vietnam, Hanoi, 188p. Montz B.E., Tobin G.A., Hagelman III R.R., 2017. Natural hazards. Explanation and integration. The Guilford Press, NY, 445p. Morgan L.K., Werner A.D., 2014. Water intrusion vulnerability for freshwater lenses near islands. Journal of Hydrology, 508, 322-327. Doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2013.11.002. Muis S., Güneralp B., Jongman B., Aerts J.C.H.J., Ward P.J., 2015. Science of the Total Environment, 538, 445-457. Doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.08.068. Murray N.J., Clemens R.S., Phinn S.R., Possingham H.P., Fuller R.A., 2014. Tracking the rapid loss of tidal wetlands in the Yellow Sea. Frontiers in Ecology and Environment, 12, 267-272. Doi: 10.1890/130260. Neumann B., Vafeidis A.T., Zimmermann J., Nicholls R.J., 2015a. Future coastal population growth and exposure to sea-level rise and coastal flooding. A global assessment. Plos One, 10, 1-22. Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0118571. Nguyen A. Duoc, Savenije H. H., 2006. Salt intrusion in multi-channel estuaries: a case study in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions, European Geosciences Union, 10, 743-754. Doi: 10.5194/hess-10-743-2006. Nguyen An Thinh, Nguyen Ngoc Thanh, Luong Thi Tuyen, Luc Hens, 2017. Tourism and beach erosion: Valuing the damage of beach erosion for tourism in the Hoi An, World Heritage site. Journal of Environment, Development and Sustainability. Nguyen An Thinh, Luc Hens (Eds.), 2018. Human ecology of climate change associated disasters in Vietnam: Risks for nature and humans in lowland and upland areas. Springer Verlag, Berlin.Nguyen An Thinh, Vu Anh Dung, Vu Van Phai, Nguyen Ngoc Thanh, Pham Minh Tam, Nguyen Thi Thuy Hang, Le Trinh Hai, Nguyen Viet Thanh, Hoang Khac Lich, Vu Duc Thanh, Nguyen Song Tung, Luong Thi Tuyen, Trinh Phuong Ngoc, Luc Hens, 2017. Human ecological effects of tropical storms in the coastal area of Ky Anh (Ha Tinh, Vietnam). Environ Dev Sustain, 19, 745-767. Doi: 10.1007/s/10668-016-9761-3. Nguyen Van Hoang, 2017. Potential for desalinization of brackish groundwater aquifer under a background of rising sea level via salt-intrusion prevention river gates in the coastal area of the Red River delta, Vietnam. Environment, Development and Sustainability. Nguyen Tho, Vromant N., Nguyen Thanh Hung, Hens L., 2008. Soil salinity and sodicity in a shrimp farming coastal area of the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Environmental Geology, 54, 1739-1746. Doi: 10.1007/s00254-007-0951-z. Nguyen Thang T.X., Woodroffe C.D., 2016. Assessing relative vulnerability to sea-level rise in the western part of the Mekong River delta. Sustainability Science, 11, 645-659. Doi: 10.1007/s11625-015-0336-2. Nicholls N.N., Hoozemans F.M.J., Marchand M., Analyzing flood risk and wetland losses due to the global sea-level rise: Regional and global analyses.Global Environmental Change, 9, S69-S87. Doi: 10.1016/s0959-3780(99)00019-9. Phan Minh Thu, 2006. Application of remote sensing and GIS tools for recognizing changes of mangrove forests in Ca Mau province. In Proceedings of the International Symposium on Geoinformatics for Spatial Infrastructure Development in Earth and Allied Sciences, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 9-11 November, 1-17. Reise K., 2017. Facing the third dimension in coastal flatlands.Global sea level rise and the need for coastal transformations. Gaia, 26, 89-93. Renaud F.G., Le Thi Thu Huong, Lindener C., Vo Thi Guong, Sebesvari Z., 2015. Resilience and shifts in agro-ecosystems facing increasing sea-level rise and salinity intrusion in Ben Tre province, Mekong Delta. Climatic Change, 133, 69-84. Doi: 10.1007/s10584-014-1113-4. Serra P., Pons X., Sauri D., 2008. Land cover and land use in a Mediterranean landscape. Applied Geography, 28, 189-209. Shearman P., Bryan J., Walsh J.P., 2013.Trends in deltaic change over three decades in the Asia-Pacific Region. Journal of Coastal Research, 29, 1169-1183. Doi: 10.2112/JCOASTRES-D-12-00120.1. SIWRR-Southern Institute of Water Resources Research, 2016. Annual Report. Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ho Chi Minh City, 1-19. Slangen A.B.A., Katsman C.A., Van de Wal R.S.W., Vermeersen L.L.A., Riva R.E.M., 2012. Towards regional projections of twenty-first century sea-level change based on IPCC RES scenarios. Climate Dynamics, 38, 1191-1209. Doi: 10.1007/s00382-011-1057-6. Spencer T., Schuerch M., Nicholls R.J., Hinkel J., Lincke D., Vafeidis A.T., Reef R., McFadden L., Brown S., 2016. Global coastal wetland change under sea-level rise and related stresses: The DIVA wetland change model. Global and Planetary Change, 139, 15-30. Doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2015.12.018. Stammer D., Cazenave A., Ponte R.M., Tamisiea M.E., 2013. Causes of contemporary regional sea level changes. Annual Review of Marine Science, 5, 21-46. Doi: 10.1146/annurev-marine-121211-172406. Tett P., Mee L., 2015. Scenarios explored with Delphi. In: Coastal zones ecosystems services. Eds., Springer, Berlin, Germany, 127-144. Tran Hong Hanh, 2017. Land use dynamics, its drivers and consequences in the Ca Mau province, Mekong delta, Vietnam. PhD dissertation, 191p. VUBPRESS Brussels University Press, ISBN 9789057186226, Brussels, Belgium. Tran Thuc, Nguyen Van Thang, Huynh Thi Lan Huong, Mai Van Khiem, Nguyen Xuan Hien, Doan Ha Phong, 2016. Climate change and sea level rise scenarios for Vietnam. Ministry of Natural resources and Environment. Hanoi, Vietnam. Tran Hong Hanh, Tran Thuc, Kervyn M., 2015. Dynamics of land cover/land use changes in the Mekong Delta, 1973-2011: A remote sensing analysis of the Tran Van Thoi District, Ca Mau province, Vietnam. Remote Sensing, 7, 2899-2925. Doi: 10.1007/s00254-007-0951-z Van Lavieren H., Spalding M., Alongi D., Kainuma M., Clüsener-Godt M., Adeel Z., 2012. Securing the future of Mangroves. The United Nations University, Okinawa, Japan, 53, 1-56. Water Resources Directorate. Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, 2016. Available online: http://www.tongcucthuyloi.gov.vn/Tin-tuc-Su-kien/Tin-tuc-su-kien-tong-hop/catid/12/item/2670/xam-nhap-man-vung-dong-bang-song-cuu-long--2015---2016---han-han-o-mien-trung--tay-nguyen-va-giai-phap-khac-phuc. Last accessed on: 30/9/2016. Webster P.J., Holland G.J., Curry J.A., Chang H.-R., 2005. Changes in tropical cyclone number, duration, and intensity in a warming environment. Science, 309, 1844-1846. Doi: 10.1126/science.1116448. Were K.O., Dick O.B., Singh B.R., 2013. Remotely sensing the spatial and temporal land cover changes in Eastern Mau forest reserve and Lake Nakuru drainage Basin, Kenya. Applied Geography, 41, 75-86. Williams G.A., Helmuth B., Russel B.D., Dong W.-Y., Thiyagarajan V., Seuront L., 2016. Meeting the climate change challenge: Pressing issues in southern China an SE Asian coastal ecosystems. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 8, 373-381. Doi: 10.1016/j.rsma.2016.07.002. Woodroffe C.D., Rogers K., McKee K.L., Lovdelock C.E., Mendelssohn I.A., Saintilan N., 2016. Mangrove sedimentation and response to relative sea-level rise. Annual Review of Marine Science, 8, 243-266. Doi: 10.1146/annurev-marine-122414-034025.

On 5 May 1768 Lieutenant James Cook was chosen by the Admiralty to take command of a Royal Society expedition funded by George III on the ship Endeavour , the purpose being to sail to a suitable point (Tahiti) in the Southern Pacific from which to observe the transit of Venus across the Sun on 3 June 1769. It was thought that, by observing the transit from different points on Earth, it would be possible to determine the distance of the Earth from both Venus and the Sun. The Royal Society asked that Joseph Banks (then a young Fellow aged 25) and a group of seven be allowed to join. Among them were two artists, Alexander Buchan and Sydney Parkinson, who were employed to draw views and specimens of natural historical interest, and Daniel Carl Solander a distinguished Swedish natural historian. Banks’s enthusiasm ensured that the voyage was exceptionally well equipped to handle natural historical discoveries. Having observed the transit of Venus, Cook was secretly under orders from the Admiralty then to sail to 40° south in search of the supposed Great Southern Continent; if not encountered, he was then to head due west to find the east coast of New Zealand. Following these instructions, Cook arrived at New Zealand on 6 October 1769. He then initiated the first detailed geographical survey of New Zealand, and Banks and Solander began putting together their rich collections of New Zealand flora; Cook also observed the transit of Mercury in Mercury Bay. On his second voyage in 1772 Cook went further south, entered the Antarctic circle twice (to 71° 10' S) and ruled out the existence of a Great Southern Continent, and first defined Antarctica as we know it. He returned to London in 1775 to be promoted to Captain and elected to the Royal Society. Banks went on to be elected President in 1778, a post which he held for nearly 42 years. Three other ties between Cook and the Royal Society include the naming of the Society Islands after his sponsors, the testing of a new chronometer for them, and a report to the Society on scurvy, which was to have great consequences for the future health of seamen. The Royal Society was thus instrumental in making possible Cook’s voyages, the outcome of which was a set of pioneering geographical, botanical, geological and anthropological descriptions of New Zealand. Here we trace some aspects of the subsequent interactions between New Zealand and the Royal Society by outlining the careers of relevant Fellows, namely (a) those foreign-born Fellows (30 identified) who spent parts of their careers in New Zealand, and (b) those New Zealand-born scientists (34) who have been elected Fellows for their work, whether carried out in New Zealand or elsewhere.

Abstract New occurrences of middle–late Darriwilian (Middle Ordovician) conodonts are reported from the Nyalam region, southern Tibet. The conodont-yielding strata, referred to the Chiatsun Group, accumulated on the north Indian continental margin of northern Gondwana. These Middle Ordovician conodonts include the informal species Histiodella sp. A in the middle part of the Lower Formation of the Chiatsun Group succeeded by a fauna of the Pygodus serra Zone in the upper part of that formation. Pygodus anserinus is recorded from the base of the Upper Formation of the Chiatsun Group. The Nyalam succession and its conodont taxa allow for precise correlation of the strata preserved on top of Mount Qomolangma (Mount Everest), eastern Tibet and the Peri-Gondwana Lhasa (north central Tibet), South China, North China, Tarim Basin and Thailand-Malaysia (Sibumasu Terrane) terranes and/or microcontinents. The middle Darriwilian positive increase in δ13Ccarb values (carbon isotope excursion, or MDICE) is recorded from most terranes, and can be related to a late middle Darriwilian global short-term cooling and sea-level drop. The cooling event prompted temperate- to warm-water taxa to migrate towards the palaeoequator and constrained the Australasian Province to locations near and at the palaeoequator. The intensified oceanic circulation and upwelling on continental margins probably caused some characteristic taxa to become extinct. The incoming fauna was mainly of cool-water taxa. The conodont specimens from southern Tibet are black to pale grey, corresponding to conodont colour index (CAI) values of 5 to 6, which demonstrates that the host sedimentary rocks were once heated to more than 360°C.

Abstract Camelids (Camelidae) were a diverse and widely distributed group in South America during the Pleistocene. According to the fossil record, three species inhabited southern Brazil in the recent past: Hemiauchenia paradoxa, Lama guanicoe, and Vicugna vicugna. The analysis of carbon and oxygen stable isotope ratios in bioapatite provides insight into the paleobiology of nonliving animals and the environment they used to inhabit. We applied this tool to investigate the diet of camelids from two geological localities in southern Brazil: Touro Passo and Santa Vitória Formations (H. paradoxa, n = 7; L. guanicoe, n = 6; V. vicugna, n = 4). Carbon stable isotopes from enamel, dentin, and bone indicated that H. paradoxa and L. guanicoe had diets comprising mostly C3 grasses, but the latter showed a broader diet due to one individual with a mixed diet, whereas V. vicugna had a mixed C3–C4 diet. These different foraging behaviors may have minimized interspecific competition and favored niche partitioning and the coexistence of related species. Combined oxygen and carbon isotope data showed a consistent diet according to climate, probably due to the greater availability in glacial periods of cool-season grasses, which mainly use the C3 photosynthetic pathway. Given their adaptations to grazing, the climate amelioration, followed by the loss of grasslands, likely had a great impact on camelid populations, leading to their extinction in southern Brazil. These results, therefore, contribute to the understanding of the dynamics of paleocommunities in this region.

AbstractThe biostratigraphically important Permian radiolarian genera Pseudoalbaillella sensu stricto and Follicucullus (Follicucullidae, Polycystinea) are discriminated by morphological gaps in their wings and segmentation. Previous statistical analyses demonstrated that Longtanella fills morphological gaps between these two genera. Longtanella has long been regarded as a junior synonym of Parafollicucullus, and only a few species have been described. Herein several true Longtanella species are recognized from South China, and eight new species and five indeterminate species are described and illustrated to prove the validity of the genus Longtanella. In addition, a new genus, Parafollicucullinoides gen. nov., is described. Their palaeogeographic distributions and living environments are explored by applying correspondence analysis (CA), with occurrence datasets of selected fusulinacean genera from the Japanese Islands, China and Sundaland. CA results indicate that Longtanella was present to a limited extent in warmer conditions in the fusulinacean Province B and C during Kungurian–Roadian time, and possibly lived above the thermocline and below the deepest limit of fusulinaceans. The Pseudoalbaillella and the Follicucullus group preferred open ocean conditions, living below the thermocline and distributed not only in the ‘Equatorial Warm Water Province’, but also the northern peri-Gondwana Cool Water Province and the southern North Cool Water Province.

The geographic area in which the avocado originated, stretching from Mexico through Guatemala and probably to Pacific coastal Costa Rica, presents a diverse set of environments. The three races that gave rise te modern avocado cultivars-Antillean (West Indian), Guatemalan and Mexican-accordingly are adapted te quite distinct environmental conditions. The apparent Mexican-Guatemalan hybrids that originated around Atlixco in Puebla State, Mexico, exemplified by 'Fuerte', showed remarkable adaptation when moved to the Mediterranean-type subtropical microcIimates cornmon in southern California, permitting a commercial industry to develop and later be transferred to other parts of the world with similar climates, such as South Africa, Israel and Chile. Selection from the material originally brought from Mexico and Central America permitted California to develop commercial cultivars exemplified by 'Hass', 'Fuerte' and 'Reed', among others, that lead the world in the area planted. Guatemalan cultivars are adapted te elevated situations in Central America, yielding well under cool conditions and forming an important dietary staple. The Antillean race, 'which probably originated aIong the Pacific coast in Central America, yields well in lowland tropical situations and warm subtropical areas such as southern Florida. Planting Guatemalan and Antillean avocados side-by-side in Florida ea¡'ly in this century produced a new group of hybrid cultivars with quality superior to that of most Antillean cultivars, adaptation te sea level locations, and an extended range of season of maturity that permitted Florida te market fruit into the autumn and winter, well past the season of pure Antillean cultivars. The best of these hybrids, 'Booth 7', 'Booth 8', 'Lula', 'Choquette' and a few others have been exported te warm locations about the tropical world for commercial planting. Thus, selection of avocado germplasm imported from Mexico and Central America into California and Florida produced a group of cultivars that are of significant commercial importance in the world.

Abstract The Home-grown School Feeding Program (HG-SFP) is a model designed to provide school meals to students using foods sourced from local markets. HG-SFP recently has been incorporated as one of the strategies of educational development in Ethiopia aiming to address hunger and food insecurity problems of school children. Yet, evaluation of the successes and challenges of the program has been limited evaluated. The purpose of the present study was to explore the successes and challenges of the SFP in Sidama Region, Southern Ethiopia. This exploratory qualitative study collected data from eight schools targeted for HG-SFP through key informant interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs). A total of sixteen FGDs and twenty-one in-depth interviews were conducted. Purposive sampling was used to include study participants based on their potential relevance in delivering in-depth information. The findings of the present study showed that HG-SFP was successful in improving class attendance and academic performance of school children. In addition, the program had a contribution in saving the parents’ money and time as a result of the food provided. With regard to SFP challenges, lack of permanent clean water provision, delay in ration delivery, poor-quality food provision, inadequate amount of food allocated for the academic year, lack of necessary infrastructure for the program, and lack of training in sanitation and hygiene for cooks were among the major challenges identified. Therefore, program challenges need high-level attention in order to make the school feeding program more successful in Sidama Region, Ethiopia.

Abstract The tectonic evolution of the Sibumasu Block during the Permian remains controversial, and Permian faunas and their paleobiogeographic affinities provide some insight into its paleogeographic and tectonic evolutionary histories. In this paper, a new brachiopod fauna dominated by Spinomartinia prolifica Waterhouse, 1981 is described from the uppermost part of the Taungnyo Group in the Zwekabin Range, eastern Myanmar. This brachiopod fauna includes 23 species and its age is well constrained as late Kungurian by the associated conodonts, i.e., Vjalovognathus nicolli Yuan et al., 2016 and Mesogondolella idahoensis (Youngquist, Hawley, and Miller, 1951), contrary to the late Sakmarian age given to the same brachiopod faunas previously reported from southern Thailand and Malaysia. Based on comprehensive comparisons of the Cisuralian brachiopod faunas and other data in different parts of the Sibumasu Block, we consider that they are better subdivided into two independent stratigraphic assemblages, i.e., the lower (earlier) Bandoproductus monticulus-Spirelytha petaliformis Assemblage of a Sakmarian to probably early Artinskian age, and the upper (younger) Spinomartinia prolifica-Retimarginifera alata Assemblage of a late Kungurian age. The former assemblage is a typical cold-water fauna, mainly composed of Gondwanan-type genera, e.g., Bandoproductus Jin and Sun, 1981, Spirelytha Fredericks, 1924, and Sulciplica Waterhouse, 1968. The latter assemblage is strongly characterized by an admixture of both Cathaysian and Gondwanan elements, as well as some genera restricted to the Cimmerian continents. Notably, the spatial distribution pattern of these two separate brachiopod assemblages varies distinctly. The Sakmarian cold-water brachiopod faunas have been found in association with glacial-marine diamictites throughout the Sibumasu Block including both the Irrawaddy and Sibuma blocks. In contrast, the Kungurian biogeographically mixed brachiopod faunas are only recorded in the Irrawaddy Block, unlike the Sibuma Block that contains a contemporaneous paleotropical Tethyan fusuline fauna. Thus, it appears likely that by the end of Cisuralian (early Permian), the Sibumasu Block comprised the Irrawaddy Block in the south with cool climatic conditions, and the Sibuma Block in the north with a temperate to warm-water environment, separated by the incipient Thai-Myanmar Mesotethys.

Abstract. Melak A, Kenfo H, Aseged T, Hailu A. 2021. Production system and breeding practice of indigenous chickens in selected districts of Dawro zone and Konta special district, Southern Ethiopia. Asian J Agric 5: 72-83. This study was conducted to understand the production system, breeding practices, selection criteria, and production constraints of chickens to have a baseline for future production strategies in the study area. The data was collected through individual interviews, focus group discussions, and personal observations. A semi-structured questionnaire using Food and Agriculture Organization Guidelines was used to avail the views of the respondents. Based on chicken population, production potential, and road accessibility, a total of 90 households from six kebeles were considered for an individual interview. The data was analyzed using SPSS software version 23.0 and an index was calculated for all ranked variables like the importance of livestock, purpose of keeping chicken, selection criteria, culling criteria, and constraints of chicken production. The index value of meat production and income generation in midland agroecology were 0.28 and 0.26 respectively. Also, the index value of income generation and meat production in lowland agroecology were 0.31 and 0.25 respectively. It is concluded that both female and male chickens are maintained mainly for income generation followed by meat sources. A variable that was given a higher priority in breeding selection was body size and health conditions, for male and female chickens respectively. Most of the respondents select their breeding hen in health, egg production, and age with an index value of 0.44 and 0.36 and 0.15 respectively; while their breeding cock in body size, disease resistance, and color with an index value of 0.36, 0.29, and 0.28 respectively. Disease and predators were the major constraints of chicken production mentioned in the study area. Therefore, addressing these constraints is important to design a successful genetic improvement scheme.